Somewhat Damaged
by kimah36
Summary: Yaujta's are nothing new to the people of Earth, but that means little to a young streetwalker named Jazzy. Fighting a growing drug addiction, she decides to go to rehab only to find it was the biggest mistake of her life. Taken away and placed on a Yaujtan Clanship as a slave, she's forced to confront her own demons while adjusting to an alien culture. OC/Yaujta
1. Her Story

**A/N: Hey guys, this is my first Predator fic. It took me a long time to come up with an angle for a story and then have the courage to start posting, but here it is. I've been lost in the wonderful world of TMNT, and I still am but I also love the Predator and wanted to write something in this fandom also. Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.**

* * *

It was hot. Oppressively hot and it was almost 2 a.m. New York was truly the city that never slept, as even at this hour there were plenty of people on the street. Jasmine took a side glance as much as she could at the street that was almost beyond her field of vision. From her very unfortunate vantage point, she could only make out the voices and shadows of passersby. The rest of her vision was occupied by the belt buckle and partially nude thigh of the man standing in front of her. This was unsavory, all of it. Where she was, what she was doing, where she was doing it, why she was doing it, and who she was doing it to. Unsavory to say the least.

The filthy gang way, filled with vermin of every size description, trash, empty crack bags, and dirty needles was no place for a twenty four year old pretty girl with potential. Yet here she was in this God forsaken place allowing a man to use her mouth as he saw fit. Grunting and calling her every kind of stupid bitch he could think of. All the while she was trying not to hurl up the meager lunch she'd eaten at the mission earlier.

Jasmine closed her eyes against the sight before her, as if she could will it away by such a simple act. She tried to think of other things, to dissociate herself from the self-inflicted abuse she was enduring. There was no escape. Even her mind betrayed her as it refused to think of anything even remotely happy or pleasant. All her thoughts circled back to this very moment. How she had gotten here, and why she was existing as she was, was all born of one boneheaded decision after another.

So instead of trying to focus her mind on something, anything else than her reality, Jazzy just went blank. Or rather she tried to. The rough jerk of the man's hips and the subsequent and very unwelcome liquid that followed dragged her back to the here and now.

"Shit! Swallow it bitch," he grunted between what she assumed were clenched teeth by the sound. Disgusted, she pulled back forcefully and gagged, desperate not to ingest a single drop of the foul fluid. Just to make sure, she induced a little vomit, and then glared at the man who chuckled at her reaction. He pulled up his pants, wiped soiled hands on them, then proceeded to throw her a few crumpled bills before stepping back out onto the streets as if he hadn't just been with a whore in the alleyway.

The familiar feeling of self-loathing that always accompanied her settled itself into the pit of her stomach with a vengeance. She quickly gathered up the money, not bothering to count it and shoved it into the pockets of her well-fitting but worn and dirty jeans. When she could convince herself that she retained some form of self-worth, Jazzy made her own way into the night about ten minutes after the John. The self-loathing tightened its grip as her mind started calculating just what this money would be for. Before she could wile it away, she knew she had one important stop to make. With enough money now to catch the train, Jasmine made her way to Harlem.

She had left home two years ago. Her drug addicted mother and her little brother still lived in Harlem. She visited her little brother as often as she could, which was becoming less and less frequent. Her and her mother stopped getting along after her mom became addicted to heroin, and the constant physical and verbal abuse drove Jasmine away.

It didn't take long to get to the place she used to call home. She knew that her mother would most likely not be home at this hour, so she was comfortable going there. She got off the train and walked the three blocks to the tenement her brother and mother now lived in. She stepped past the junkies and fellow whores to enter the building. The halls smelled vaguely of piss and burnt food as she climbed the five flights up. She only had to knock twice before her brother Marcus opened the door.

"Jazzy!" He exclaimed dragging her inside. She smiled and hugged him, looking around the small apartment for her estranged mother.

"She ain't here," Marcus answered before she could ask, and he could see her relax visibly.

"What you doin up at this hour? Ain't you s'posed to be sleep?" She asked, talking in the ebonics that she would have gotten a beating for as a kid. Her mother prided herself on teaching her children how to speak proper English.

"I'm just playing Call of Duty, trying to get through these zombies. What's up with you Jazzy?" He asked settling back down on the floor in front of the television, Jazzy taking a seat right next to him.

"I just came to give you this," she said reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small wad of bills and handing them to him. He took them cautiously. She could see he didn't want to, but she knew how desperate he must be for essential stuff like food and money for school. Marcus had just started high school, and Jasmine was determined to help him finish it.

"You steal this money?" He asked in such a non-accusatory way that it broke her heart.

"I sold some stuff for it, now put it up and don't let mom find it or know you have it alright?" She answered ambiguously. She would rather have him think her a thief than a whore, because no one wanted a whore for a sister.

"Alright," he said, a small smile and look of relief played on his young face before he went to put it away and came back to resume his game.

"Momma got some money earlier so she shouldn't be back no time soon. If you wanna take a shower and eat something you should," Marcus said while never breaking his attention from the game. She mumbled an okay and made a beeline to the closet where her mother still kept some of Jasmine's old clothes. She gathered up a fresh pair of underwear, and a pair of jeans that still fit.

The shower was steamy despite the hot weather, and she welcomed it. Jasmine tried as best she could to wash away the dirt and grime of the streets from her body and hair. She wanted to never leave from underneath the running water, but this was not the place to relax. As soon as she was clean she stepped out of the shower, not even bothering to dry herself off. She put the clean clothes on, looked at her reflection in the steamed mirror and tried a small smile. It didn't work. It looked foreign and forlorn and ghostly and it made her shy away from herself.

Jasmine was pretty. Before being a homeless streetwalker burgeoning on crack addict, she had been beautiful. Caramel skin, wild curly long hair, dimples, hazel eyes, and a body to die for, Jasmine was, or used to be what other girls wished they could be and what men wished they could get. Now her once thick curvaceous body was aging too rapidly, her skin was getting bad, and it was hard for her to keep good hygiene.

A barely audible sigh escaped her as she exited the bathroom. She was about to grab a bite to eat before she left until she got to the living room. Marcus was standing up looking scared and peeking into the hallway where Jasmine had just emerged. He was rigid in his stance and when Jazzy looked towards the front door she saw exactly why. Her mother, Ms. Angela Bledsoe was standing there at first glaring at Marcus, then turned that devilish look in Jazzy's direction. Without warning, Angela strode the short distance to Marcus and gave him a resounding slap that echoed across the small hot room, and sent him to the floor.

"What is this bitch doing in my house, huh Marcus?" Angela thundered, not giving him time to react before she was on him again raining blows on his side and arms as he curled into a fetal position to defend himself.

"Get the fuck off of him!" Jasmine screamed racing over to pull her mother off of a now sobbing Marcus. Angela turned on Jasmine like a feral cat, biting and scratching until Jasmine punched her in the face, stunning her into a furious silence. Angela's eyes burned with what Jasmine could only identify as hatred. Jasmine darted her eyes over to Marcus, wishing that she could take him with her and knowing damn well she couldn't.

"Get the fuck out of here before I kill you," Angela said. The threat was leveled so casually, that Jasmine could only assume she meant that.

Reluctantly Jasmine backed out not wanting to leave her brother with this abusive maniac but not having any other choice. As she speed walked down the hall and down the stairs she could hear Angela yell all manner of obscenities at her back. By the time she made back out into the stifling heat, tears were streaming down her cheeks. She made her way to a corner, bought a bag of weed and a bag of crack to smoke with it. She went to an open liquor store and bought some Swisher Sweets to make a blunt with and then found a nice spot in the bathroom of a subway platform to smoke it in. Jasmine wanted a drink too but didn't have enough money. She could have gave the guy behind the counter a hand job for it, but when she thought about her alley John from earlier, she quickly dismissed that from her mind.

Sitting in a stall with a missing door and lighting up her blunt gave Jasmine time to think. Something she both needed to do and dreaded at the same time. She missed her mother, the woman who existed before the drugs and the three week benders, and the various men coming in and out of the house like a revolving door. That woman had gotten Jasmine into dance school at a very young age, had introduced her to ballet and the arts, had encouraged a small stint as a gymnast, and had even encouraged Jasmine's love for archery. Her mother had spent so much of her hard earned single mother money for Jasmine to pursue her dreams, and until two years ago Jazzy had never disappointed.

Jasmine had made up her mind that she was going to be a professional dancer if she couldn't make it in the music business. She was talented and not just because her mother said so. Jasmine could sing, and had been singing in the church choir since she was six years old. Her mother supported her trying to get her dance career off the ground until she realized Jasmine wasn't going to do classical or contemporary dance, she was going to do urban dance. Angela had called it 'being one of those video bitches', and had vehemently disapproved. When Jasmine would not concede to her mother's wishes, she put her out, although that was simply the excuse to be rid of her. Jasmine had roomed with a mutual friend of a friend and that had went sour fast, ending with Jasmine out on the streets with a minimum wage job, a pocket full of dreams, and nowhere to lay her head.

She floated around here and there for months after her roommate situation went south. She'd crash wherever anyone would let her. At first she was paying a few dollars to stay a night with people she had barely spoken to, and when she lost her job it had turned into doing sexual favors for a night's stay. Jasmine followed the party scene, always looking for the next place to crash. One thing always led to another though, and soon she found herself going from drinking and drug-free, to smoking weed, to adding a little hit of crack rock to it. Her days and nights blurred together in a haze of uncertainty, instability, and bad decisions. She kept telling herself that she was going to start dancing again, singing again, that she was going to get her mom to come to rehab and therapy with her, and that she was going to watch Marcus grow up to be a fine young man that wasn't merely a product of his environment but a conqueror of it.

Then she took another hit and leaned her head back against the dirty wall, littered with tags and gang signs, lewd drawings, and caked in spots with a dried substance Jazzy hoped to god wasn't what she thought it was. She must have dozed off because she awoke startled by the sound of another vagrant entering the near abandoned restroom. Slowly she moved trying not to make a sound until she peeked one eye out to see who it was. It was an old woman limping in through the door. The woman's hair was a rat's nest and she smelled so bad Jazzy's stomach did a lazy flop and a lurch. Old homeless ladies were usually crazy as hell, and Jazzy just couldn't tonight. She hoped up, scaring a few curses out of the old woman, and stormed out of the bathroom.

Jasmine got back topside and just walked. Her athletic shoes were giving out on her, but for now they were comfortable enough for her to walk a bit without hurting her feet. She aimlessly hiked down busy streets not caring which direction she was headed. She passed a food stand and felt around for that last few bucks she had in her pocket, thinking with distaste that she'd have to turn another trick soon just to eat. She bought a large slice of pizza and a soda and sat down to eat it. Right next to the food stand a store window had a television playing. Jasmine looked up to watch the soundless news play. Judging by the pictures flashing on the screen, they were talking about those damn aliens again, the Yaujta. She watched the screen a little while longer before turning away in disinterest. The discovery of aliens visiting Earth was exciting for people who had time to be excited about stuff like that, but in the hood it didn't change shit. It certainly hadn't affected her life one way or another. She looked back at the screen briefly to find that they must have been talking about the recent spate of missing homeless people, as if anyone gave a damn. The homeless were always missing, but nobody gave two shits about them. That's why they were homeless.

Jazzy swallowed the last of her meal and sat for a while, trying to decide which way to go. Then an idea struck her. She might go to the shelter and catch what passed for a decent night's rest. It was hot and it probably wouldn't be too crowded. There was only one shelter that took in people any time of day or night, and that was the Love Outreach Shelter over on 48th. They had a rehab program there and welcomed anyone with an addiction. Many times she'd thought to go, and many times she reneged thinking she had her issues under control like all addicts do. Then she thought about Marcus, and how she had to leave him at home with that demon of a mother they had and her mind was made up. She'd get clean, she'd get herself together, and she would get her brother and raise him right.

With a firm decision in place she got up to throw away her trash, then reached down in the waist pack she wore strapped to her thigh and got out her one and only prized possession. Her iPod Touch. It held all her music and all the comfort that this world she lived in had to offer her. She had a wide range of genres ranging from rap, to R&B, to Motown, to 80s rock, to alternative, to club bangers and twerk music. She placed her earbuds in her ear and began to walk to the rehab. It took her thirty minutes on foot to get there. When she did, she stopped at the door. She read the sign above it as if making sure this was the place. The sign read in bold black lettering:

 **Love Outreach Shelter and Mission**

Then in smaller letters below it, the sign read:

 **Sponsored by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation**

" **Building A Better Future"**

Whoever the hell they were.

She let out a shuddering sigh as a somber mood stole over her. For some reason thoughts of Marcus were strong. She looked east to the dawn that was cracking over the horizon.

"This is for you baby brother," she whispered to herself as a tear slid down her face. For some reason although she intended on seeing him again soon, she felt as if she were saying goodbye. She could not have known that she would never see him again.


	2. Intake

The world tried its level best to swim back into focus for Jasmine, but it wasn't happening fast enough. All she knew was that there was an obnoxiously bright light somewhere overhead. She wanted to panic and thrash and know what the fuck was going on, but the pounding headache behind her eyes stopped her. So instead she quieted down and tried to concentrate on things around her and go slowly. Since when had the shelter been relatively quiet? It was always loud and bustling in the morning. They came and made sure you were up and either out the door or attending rehab meetings. It had to be bright and early in the morning. When she arrived it was already dawn. She took a deep breath and was surprised that she could. The air was clean and smelled fresh, almost clinical in its sterility. Jasmine's hackles raised tremendously and panic started the settle on the outskirts of her being.

She forced her eyes open, trying to muscle through the headache. At first she couldn't focus but eventually did, and realized with no small amount of confusion and horror that she was indeed not in the shelter anymore. Jasmine turned her head to take in her surroundings. She was in a cell of some sort like a jail cell. She didn't remember getting picked up by the cops, or getting into anything at the shelter. She typically kept to herself. It was easy to do, but it didn't pay to get into petty arguments and confrontations in the streets. It was too simple to get hurt or killed.

On further inspection she saw a toilet area like a regular cell, but no bars. There was a clear glass wall, or rather they were sliding doors of some type. Jasmine looked down at herself to find that she was in something like all white nurse's scrubs, with little white canvas shoes. No shoestrings and no socks. In fact she didn't have any of her few personal belongings. They could keep the clothes, it was her iPod she was most concerned with. She jumped up despite her headache and made her way to the glass wall, fully prepared to have to bang on it and almost fell through when they slid open with a quiet whooshing sound. She stumbled but didn't actually fall, and then got herself together. Jazzy found herself standing in the middle of a long white corridor only able to go in one direction; left. To the right there was a dead end. She cautiously made her way down the hall, her mind racing a mile a minute in an effort to make sense of what was happening. Was she in a hospital? And if so what kind? She was hoping like hell somebody hadn't put her in the psych ward.

As Jasmine neared the end of the hall, two things caught her attention. The first was the very large logo for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. The gigantic yellow "W" adorned the wall at the end of the corridor she had just come down. She recognized that logo from all the different construction sites around the city. Something in her gut clenched when she realized she had seen that name on the shelter's sign when she checked herself into rehab…..this morning? A new fear struck Jasmine as she realized she had no idea what time it was. The second thing that caught her attention was the sound of people. She wasn't alone wherever this place was, and she didn't know if she should be relieved or frightened of that fact.

With extreme caution Jasmine rounded a corner only to be met with another of those glass sliding doors. On the other side of it was a small mess hall, filled completely with women of every description. Black women, white women, Latina women, Asian women, and a whole slew of others whose race she couldn't readily name. They were mostly thin whether naturally or from malnutrition. As far as Jazzy could tell, most of these women were either druggies or prostitutes themselves. She could just tell. She had spent enough time among her own kind in the streets to recognize them. The vacant looks, the way they eagerly were eating their food, the tell-tale sign of some of them already experiencing some form of withdrawal.

Jasmine stepped through the doors. The sight of others that appeared to be in the same plight as her should have eased her but it didn't. It was a normal mess hall as far as Jasmine could see. The food line was to one side of the room, the tables in the middle, and several guard type men on the perimeter. She eyed one of them as she made her way to the lunch line. He didn't have any body armor or police gear, but he did have a small gun looking item that jazzy recognized as a taser. He wore white pants and a shirt that sported that same ugly logo. He made eye contact with her, but otherwise did not acknowledge her presence.

Quietly she collected her food, which was some sort of starch and what looked like it wanted to be a slice of meatloaf. Jasmine thought it might have been a meat substitute. She got a bottle of water and made her way to a table to eat. Silently, the women made room for her as they continued to eat. It struck her that it was relatively quiet. Mess halls were usually noisy places, where you could simultaneously hear laughing and arguing. Only the droning white noise that indicated the presence of a group of people could be heard or rather felt, but there was little conversation being held. Jazzy found herself next to a tall blonde woman who looked like methamphetamines were a part of her daily routine for years. Her blue eyes were sunk into her head, her blond hair clean but damaged and lank, and her prominent collarbone all but poked through her skin. Jasmine wasn't a shy person, but something about the feel of this place made socializing awkward. She decided she would get no understanding if she didn't at least ask someone.

"Hey," Jazzy tried but to no avail. The lady either didn't hear or was ignoring her. In any case she didn't reply, but Jazzy wasn't giving up so easily.

"Hey girl? Do you know where we are?" Jasmine went ahead and asked. The woman jerked her head in Jazzy's direction, as if she had been snapped out of deep thought. She regarded Jazzy for a moment with her skeletal stare before answering.

"We in space honey. We got took by those bastards over there," the blonde answered, indicating the guards with the handle of her spork.

"Those goddamn government bastards got us. I was in the shelter when it happened," the blonde began in hushed tones, obviously not wanting anyone to hear what she was saying. Her knee never stopped bouncing nervously, and she kept flipping her hair back even though it wasn't in her way at all.

"I came to the shelter too. The Love Outreach," Jazzy said poking at the food before her, but not eating it.

"Yeah, yeah, I saw you when you came in. I was way in the back when you came in. You was the one that sat over by the wall right? By the bathroom?" The blonde offered. Jazzy was surprised. The bed area hadn't been necessarily full, but she hadn't paid attention to know if the blonde was there. She had taken a place on the wall next to the bathroom, so perhaps the woman had been there after all.

"Yeah that was me," Jazzy replied, still not clear on just what the hell was happening, but was morbidly happy that she wasn't the only one in this situation.

"What I don't get is what happened? All I remember is laying down trying to go to sleep, and then I woke up here," Jasmine said, still poking at her food. She was starving but couldn't bring herself to take a bite.

"These bastards right here are what the fuck happened. See, I don't go to sleep, so I saw the whole goddamn thing. They came in when they thought everybody was sleep then started sticking needles in people," the blonde said, finishing off her platter. She put her hand on her ever-bouncing knee, then back off, then back on in an endless fidget.

"What do you mean stuck needles in people? Like drugged us? But why would a rehab drug us?" Jazzy complained. The blonde lady just was not making sense. The blonde stopped and gave Jazzy a look of pity.

"You must be a baby," the lady said. The term 'baby' was sometimes used by older prostitutes in reference to girls new to the strip. Jasmine couldn't disagree that she was relatively new, but wondered how this lady had gathered that Jazzy was a hooker. Probably the same way Jazzy knew them when she saw them; she was one of them.

"Anyway, you gotta get on the ball sweet meat. These Weyland people been going around taking homeless people and bringing them to those predator motherfuckers," the blonde said peering around the room as if she were being chased or stalked.

Jasmine did the same, but saw that no one else was doing that. In fact as she paid attention, most of the women didn't seem to care one way or another what was happening. They neither seemed happy nor sad, neither at peace nor angry nor agitated. She guessed that many of them had spent so much time here and there, that it stopped mattering where they were as long as they could sleep or eat. For some they were content as long as they could get high. Somehow Jazzy thought her days for getting high were quite over. This was one hell of a 12-step program. As she tried to take in the details of the room they were in, it dawned on her just what the blonde lady was saying. They were being taken to the predators, the yautja.

"Okay you said we were in space and that they were taking us to the yautja. Why would they do that, and how do you know all this?" Jasmine asked, becoming skeptical of just how much of this she could trust.

"When they was going from bed to bed knocking us out, I played like I was already sleep. When they got to me I fought, but shit I'm like 100-lbs wet and wearing boots. They put my little skinny ass down so fast, it made my head spin. How I found out is I overheard some of them talking about it, and you know I had to do what I had to do to get information about where the hell they was taking us," the blonde said. Jasmine was about to ask another question when the guards started rounding everyone up.

"Alright ladies, time to go! Back to your rooms! Move it, move it!" The men said moving in to get the women out of the mess hall. For the most part it was orderly.

"Brenda," the blonde called to Jasmine as she got herded into a line.

"Jazzy," Jasmine answered before being herded herself to the cell she woke up in.

* * *

Time passed although Jasmine couldn't determine how much. Every day was the same. Like jail, they would be woken up and herded to the mess halls, and supervised in the showers. Every so often they would visit a nurse there. Jasmine only saw Brenda at the mess hall, where she would listen to the blonde tell her what she knew about their situation. Brenda told her that they were being dropped off at the yautja ship, and that it had to have been close to a week that they had been traveling. She also told Jazzy that their belongings should be given back to them when they docked.

There was no day or night, and misery began to set in as well as fear. Yautja's were scary things, or at least that's what every one ever told her. They looked scary, but Jasmine had never encountered one. She doubted very highly that they ever came to the hood to do whatever it was they did. Jasmine had been barely out of her teens when the news broke that aliens existed. She had only been vaguely terrified by that revelation. Federally mandated classes were ordered so that the average American could be aware of the predators and their way of doing things. The information in those classes were vague at best. Basically they were shown pictures of how the aliens looked, and told to keep the hell away from them at all costs. There was a rumor that if you were unarmed or a woman, they never killed or hurt you. Jasmine didn't know how true that was, but she hoped like hell it wasn't a rumor.

Jazzy lay in her cot aching for a smoke of anything right now, just to escape reality. How could this be happening? One minute she was trying to make a responsible decision to clean herself up, and the next thing she knew she was in a spaceship in outer fucking space. She was being taken to an unknown place, to live with, or be killed by fucking aliens. The worst part about it was her iPod was gone, and she didn't know that she could trust getting it back. She thought about her brother, hoping that somehow she would see him again. The reality of not only being kidnapped, but also no longer being on Earth was too overwhelming. Jasmine turned over on her side and cried bitterly into the thin pillow until she went into a dreamless, fitful sleep.

* * *

The day had finally come. Jasmine was awakened as per usual, and supervised in the showers. She was then led along with the other women into a different part of the ship. In all the time she had been there, none of them had ever been allowed outside of the mess halls, rooms, showers, or medical area. Like cattle being led to slaughter, the women were herded into what appeared to be a large loading or cargo bay. They were made to stand in a line in order to receive their personal belongings. Jasmine looked around the enormous area in awe.

It was the largest place Jasmine had ever been. It was bigger than a football stadium, and she'd been to one or two football games with her male friends. Emerging from the same ship she had just been on, came a group of men that she hadn't known were there. They were in a similar line, but unlike the women they were protesting their capture loudly. They also seemed to have been convicts or something judging by the various penitentiary jumpsuits they were all wearing. On the other side of the loading bay she could see the Weyland workers wheeling large pallets of crates. She couldn't make out all of what the lettering said on the sides, but some of them read 'MEDICAL', 'HYGIENE', and the like.

It was Jasmine's turn to receive her small bag of items. She stepped up to the worker who jammed the package in her hands, while another worker shooed her to yet another line. She happened to look up and notice that she was standing in front of one of two flashing signs. One of them read "Game Planet" alternating from English to a series of dots and slashes that Jazzy recognized as the alien language. The other one that she was standing directly in front of read "Clanship", which sounded like a much better deal than game planet. She didn't need anyone to tell her what that was for. The unfortunate souls standing in that line were all going to be slaughtered. Only the men were being pushed to the game planet line. No wonder they were protesting so badly.

Jazzy looked around in her bag of stuff. The first genuine smile she had cracked in a long while spread across her face at the sight of her iPod. Quickly she checked and saw that it had a full charge, and she had even gotten her earbuds back, along with a charger that apparently they'd given to her. How fucking sweet of them? Without hesitation, she turned it on and put the earbuds in her ear. She played the first song that was queued up, which ironically was Happy by Pharrell. Jazzy was nowhere near happy, but a piece of familiarity had followed her and it served to ground her firmly in place.

Her musical revelry was short lived when she felt a subtle jolt, and the doors at the end of the loading bay slid open. In walked some of the largest things Jasmine had ever seen. She slowly removed the earbuds from her ears and killed the music.

Five humongous yautja strode their way across the distance towards the humans like intergalactic royalty. One of them wore a black cape or cloak and he was the one to step forward. He easily dwarfed the man that stepped up to meet him, as the two exchanged some form of information. When the human worker was done speaking, he was waved away by the lead yautja as the latter made his way towards the group of men and women. His cloak flowed behind him, and his dread like hair swayed gently with each long stride. He had minimal armor on and held his mask at his side. He motioned one of the other predators towards the men, where they were roughly carted off. He walked part way along the line of women, surveying them under his severe golden-eyed gaze. He passed by Jasmine, and she had to fight not to simply cower down in fear. He was bigger than he looked from a distance. Jazzy was only an average 5'6", and the way the lead predator towered over her made her believe he had to be taller than 7'0. He was also very broad, and every muscle that she could discern rippled with every movement he made.

Apparently done with his cursory inspection, he motioned to another one of his men to lead the women to the clan ship. As they started their march to the unknown, Jazzy felt a hand tap her shoulder lightly. It was Brenda.

"How you holding up sweet meat?" Brenda asked, a nervous smile on her face. Her eyes were fixed on their captors, as were Jazzy's.

"I don't know that I _am_ holding up. Is this real Brenda? Are we really here with these… things?" Jasmine asked, her eyes pleading. She wished that someone would wake her from this terrible nightmare.

"We'll make it through sweet meat, just keep your eyes up and your nose clean like we do in the streets. We're survivors you and me," Brenda tried to reassure, and Jasmine could tell that she was also trying to convince herself. Brenda wrapped a thin arm around Jasmine as they walked.

"Alright. I'll try," Jazzy answered weakly. She had survived a whole lot of crazy situations, but nothing like this. Back on the streets people were easy to read for the most part. You knew a bitch was jealous of you, and you knew a man wanted sex, and you knew how to handle both accordingly. What she didn't know was how to act around a group of unpredictable monsters. She couldn't fathom what they would want out of a group of women that were obviously too weak to fight them.

 _(You know what they want.)_

She blocked that out immediately. These weren't men, these things were another damned species altogether. They didn't bring them here for that, Jazzy was certain. She had learned that these things had females they dealt with, so there was no possible way she and the rest of the women were her for that. In any case who said these aliens were even attracted to a human woman? At worst, Jazzy thought they would have to be slaves. Cooking, cleaning, doing menial shit that these things thought were beneath them. This could even be some sort of fucked up experiment though. That thought scared her most of all. What if they were brought here for scientific reasons? It was obvious that as a whole these things were technologically advanced. Jasmine thought any race that could figure out intergalactic travel, had to be interested in science or at least engineering. After all, these things hunted humans, so wouldn't it be only logical to study their prey?

After a very long march that had her heart rate up and her muscles warmed, trying to keep up with the predators strides, they got to a gateway of sorts. It vaguely reminded Jazzy of the airport, or going through metal detectors when you came into city hall or something. On one side of the gateway, those crates she saw earlier were being unloaded. On the side she was on she saw that they were being inspected. It was like the airport scan but much worse. Jazzy saw that not only were they being made to go through a sort of scan thing where you got sprayed, but they were being made to do so naked. Her lifestyle had removed a great deal of her modesty, but she felt it come roaring back in the presence of these strange beings.

Brenda went first, and Jazzy had to admire the way the blonde lady held her own. She didn't protest verbally, but she didn't cower in fear either. If they looked her in the face, she looked them in the eyes. She made no attempt at covering her body when they stripped her naked, as this seemed to be amusing to them when the women instinctively did so. Brenda bit her lip so hard that a trickle of blood creeped down her chin, when they locked a collar around her neck that seemed to burrow itself partially into her neck. Never at any point did Brenda cry out in pain, or let them know that any of what was happening was bothering her in the least.

Then it was Jasmine's turn. The bag of her own clothes had been snatched from her and inspected. When they were satisfied they tossed it back to her. She was thankful they hadn't decided to take it like she had seen happen to some others. Instead of allowing her to take off her own clothing, there was a male yautja there to do it for her. With a couple of quick swipes of his long claws, her clothing lay in tatters at her feet. Small angry welts appeared where she had been scraped by his talons. She was then shoved into a pod that closed in around her, and immediately sprayed with a medical smelling mist that cleared itself before the pod re-opened. She stepped out where she was herded to another waiting yautja who unceremoniously slapped the collar around her neck.

The pain was instantaneous and damn near debilitating. Jazzy tried to bite her lip, to hold in the scream that threatened to erupt from her throat, but she couldn't. She let out a choked, sobbing cry and fell to one knee, trying not to simply writhe on the floor in pain. It only lasted several seconds, but each felt like an eternity. Her mind went hazy for a moment or two, and through the growing mist words started to form. At first she thought she had went ahead and had that psychotic break that she felt was inevitable. The words were seemingly related to the chorus of clicks and growls that her ears were hearing. In her mind they were intelligible and very clear cut.

"Get her up!"

"Get up ooman!"

The words screamed in her mind. She struggled to comply, not wanting to seem weaker than she had to in front of them. After trying unsuccessfully to get her balance and make it to her feet, she felt herself hauled up by one arm. Claws dug into the tender flesh just below her armpit, and the pain mingled with the one throbbing in her neck. She found herself face to face with one of them, his mandibles clicking impossibly fast to make that noise only they were capable of. They were mere inches from each other as he regarded her, and then with a final click of his tusks, placed her roughly back on her feet. It was followed up by a low growl.

 _Don't fall again_ , was the warning issued there. Wobbly on her feet but making it, she was then shoved over to a commissary of sorts where the crates she'd seen earlier were laid open. In the bin were all sorts of toiletries and things people needed on a daily basis. There were little bottles of shampoo, travel size deodorant, tampons and maxi pads, toothbrushes and toothpaste, cheap little combs and brushes that she would have to make do with on her wild mane, and other little things like that. Someone had really thought this out. The fact that these things were presented to them gave Jazzy hope that they wouldn't be killed, at least not outright. Someone certainly wanted them to have at least a few small comforts, and she thought maybe she would try to be grateful for that.

Jasmine gathered as much of that stuff as she could carry and went, un-herded this time, to stand near Brenda. Jazzy was about to say something, until she noticed the tall woman's gaze. Brenda was looking out of a large glass wall, and there was nothing out there except the vastness of space. A tear welled in Jasmine's eyes unbidden at the magnificent sight, marred by her circumstances. She had never been one to dream about the stars, but she had thought once or twice about how cool it would be to do space travel. Had the situation not been nightmarish she would have been able to meet this with the wonder and awe it demanded. As it stood, the sight of the blackness of space served to do nothing more than solidify reality to Jasmine. A reality she had spent those nights in her cell denying vehemently to herself. She was really here, in space, away from her brother, away from her home planet, and she was alone. She didn't know anyone here, and no one was coming to save her. It all hit her like a ton of bricks, and she struggled to physically stand under the weight of it. She would never see her brother again. Ever. A pain clenched her heart so hard, she thought maybe she might have a heart attack or stroke or something. Her hand grabbed at her chest, as if she could massage the feeling away until she realized it was no heart attack. It was heartache. It was grief. Marcus. She had promised him on many of occasions that she would save him, and now she could not keep it.

With her face now wet with tears, she reached into her bag and retrieved her iPod once more, turning it all the way up. She closed her eyes and allowed Pharrell to tell her just how 'Happy' she was.


	3. No Uncertain Terms

Kujhade stood among his clan brothers regarding the human women before him. He knew what the elder was doing, and he couldn't say he disagreed. They spent many years away from the home planet, where the females rarely left. Many of the clan brothers were forced to live in celibacy year after year due to the lack of viable females. He was at even more of a disadvantage because of his unique condition. He was an albino male, and that meant mating with him was not a thing most females would want to do.

Kujhade had a long history of successful hunts to his credit, with a trophy collection that was hard to match. He'd reached the rank of honored warrior, and had every honorable position except that of a great sire. So, the elder Bakuub had suggested to him this plan. To gather females compatible with the yautja for mating, and possibly birthing. It was only after so much secretive information gathering, that it was found that out of the many species they had encountered as a race, only a few were physically well-matched. Of those, only the humans and one other race could conceive with them. Furthermore, out of the two races the human DNA was always overshadowed by that of the yautja. This caused the very desirable effect of the offspring's appearance to match that of the yautja race, with very few human weaknesses.

Bakuub had promised Kujhade and a few other warriors the right to choose a possible mate from among the women. Thereafter the rest of them would be made to serve the general population of male warriors. The arrangement was foreign in their culture, and there were a few detractors on the council. However, there were many more males who were in favor of it even though none of them would have openly admitted it. Mating with females outside the race, especially for viable males, was a great taboo among them.

Bakuub motioned for three of the other male honored warriors to choose a female. It didn't take them long to choose, with one of the males choosing two women. Then it was Kujhade's turn. He stepped forth, the rest of his clan brothers parting to allow him passage. He took his time surveying all of them, trying to force himself to find some attraction to these females. They were tusk-less, no crest on their heads, and no talons. However, from the neck down they were more or less comparable so he decided to choose one that reminded him most of yautja females.

Some of them were pathetically crying, some looked unhealthy, but there were a few who were at least standing up straight. He approached the group, pleased to see that they instinctively moved out of his way. When he stood next to Jasmine, he wasn't even looking at her. He seemed to be considering the short Asian woman next to her. He reached out in order to touch the woman's strange face, but she jerked away and the powerful scent of her fear turned him away. He was struggling mightily not to see them as merely weak prey not worthy of the hunt.

Suddenly he turned towards Jasmine, his mandibles flared in annoyance. _If this one gives off that scent I just might slit her throat_ , he thought although he really intended to do no such thing. To his surprise she flinched, but managed to keep her fear scent to a minimum. He flared his mandibles again, letting loose a roar, but when she turned her head and stood her ground he knew this one was probably most suitable to his needs. Kujhade grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her from between the ranks of the women. At that moment fear overtook Jasmine. Where was he taking her? What was he going to do with her?

"No, no, no, no," she started saying louder and louder as she struggled uselessly against the iron grip that held her.

"Let me go you ugly muthafucka!" She screamed starting to really put her back into the struggling but to no avail.

"I said let me GO!" she screamed one last time before she found herself pushed roughly to the smooth floor of the ship. Vaguely she heard the collective gasps of the women behind her. There was a ton of clicking going on among the yautja, and Jazzy suddenly remembered the thing around her neck. They had understood what she was saying, and apparently it was quite hilarious to the aliens surrounding her. The large white one was not amused, and he stood over her glaring before turning that frightful gaze towards the ones laughing. That shut them up quickly as they regained their stoic composure.

Stepping back a pace or two, Kujhade motioned her to come to him. Jazzy slowly rose to her feet, rubbing the elbow she had broken her fall with. He motioned again, beckoning her and then pointing forcefully to the spot on the floor next to him. When she hesitated he growled a warning.

"Come!" Kujhade barked in his own language.

Jasmine wanted to continue in defiance, but thought better of that as she remembered where she was and who she was acting out on. He could remove her head from her body without batting his eyes twice, and probably go take a nap afterwards. The barking command and growl had her feet moving on their own towards him, obediently standing next to him. After a moment he was mollified, and he strode off down a long corridor. Jasmine looked back and found Brenda, who gave her a curt nod and small smile of encouragement.

* * *

Her body seemed strong and she also appeared to be a young female. He had chosen her because she reminded him physically of a yautja female. She had even dared struggle against him in front of his clan mates. That he did not appreciate, but he could live with it. His own females were much more aggressive, and his little commanding growl stunt would have gotten him a beating. He kept casting glances behind him to see if she was keeping step. For the most part she was, but every once and again he had to pull her along.

Finally they reached the lifts. He called for one and when the doors opened he pushed her inside and then stepped inside himself. He could feel her eyes on him. She was bold to be looking at him so openly, he could give her that, but he knew he would have to make her know her place.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked suddenly.

Kujhade didn't answer her. She would see soon enough where she was to be taken. He could sense her fear, and also her struggle to control it. It was a good thing she was frightened of him. This would serve to keep her in line and out of his way. At the moment he had no use for her, but he would be in season soon. Then she would accept her fate. Really she should be honored to have him willingly in her presence. Being his property would raise her status on the ship from a lowly beast of prey, to one worthy at least of a small bit of respect.

"Are you gonna kill me? Cause if you are you can just go ahead and do that shit and get it over with," Jasmine said, annoyed that she knew he could understand her and was choosing to completely ignore her.

"If I wanted you dead you would be dead ooman," Kujhade said, his voice rumbling from his chest.

She was startled by how deep his voice was, and the fact that he even spoke to her at all. What he said offered little comfort. She was about to ask another question when the doors opened. Kujhade stepped out and waited for the briefest of moments before taking off with his long stride down another hall.

As Jasmine looked around they appeared to be on a private level of some sort. She didn't know if old Lite Brite was some kind of yautja celebrity or what, but she knew people who had their own level for a place to stay were usually big shit. The long corridor was dotted with what appeared to be doors of some kind. They turned a corner at the end of the hall and she was surprised to find that it opened on a somewhat comfortable looking room. There were very large pillows and covers that lined a depression in the floor to one side if the room. On the other side was a very large table and two chairs. There was another room off to the side, but the most surprising thing of all was that one whole side of the room was made like a balcony of sorts. Instead of just plain wall, it was completely clear and Jasmine was once again confronted with the mysterious terrible beauty of deep space. She started unconsciously moving towards it when she heard a low growl. She wished he'd stop doing that. It reminded her of a junkyard dog or something.

"You know we can understand each other right? You don't have to keep growling and shit," Jazzy said satisfied with the mild look of surprise on his face.

"Just stop talking and come," Kujhade said, ready for this little tour to be over.

Jasmine came reluctantly as Kujhade continued. He showed her the toilet facilities which were separate from the bathing area. He only pointed towards a room that was his trophy room without taking her inside. The feeling she got in her gut told her she didn't wanna see that. There was a small kitchen type area where she imagined he prepared whatever the hell he ate. At the thought of food her stomach growled, but she ignored it. When they were done he led her back to the first room they entered with the spectacular panoramic view of space. He stood for a while taking in her still naked form while she looked out into the darkness. She was suitable. He wasn't attracted per se, but the way her breasts sat high and the way she didn't bother to cover herself before him reminded him strongly of the females of his own kind.

He thought maybe he could lay down the ground rules later, but when she spoke again he knew it couldn't wait.

"I wanna go home," she said simply.

Kujhade shook his head and turned to leave. He heard her run behind him, and thought she was foolish to have done that. He turned back to face her, green eyes flashing. Jasmine grabbed his arm, disturbed by the hardness of the muscle and the way it had zero give.

"I said I wanna go home. I want to go back to Earth. You know, the place you got me from," Jazzy said then stepped back as his mandibles stopped twitching and he flared them once again.

Before she knew what was happening, Kujhade had grabbed her by the throat and lifted her to his eye level.

"You are home. You belong to me. You are mine," Kujhade told her. He was shaking her back and forth as he spoke, and was unconsciously tightening his grip. It was then that she began to beat her fists on his arm, and kick and thrash wildly. He loosened his grip enough to let her breathe, but did not put her down. Kujhade felt like he had to let her know her place. How she reacted to her new reality would determine whether or not she was too mentally weak to carry his seed.

"You are mine now and you will do as I command. You will come to me when I say and you will not fight. You will not leave these quarters unless it is with me, or a guard of my choosing. Do you understand this?" He demanded, bringing her only inches from his face.

Jasmine couldn't stop the tears from falling. Her fears had been realized. This thing had told her in no uncertain terms that she belonged to him, and that made her a slave. A thing to be owned, to be ruled over, to be used as he saw fit and discarded in the same manner. The more things changed the more they stayed the same. Was this not the life she had been living before being spirited away? Being used by perfect strangers for their own selfish desires? Only at least then they had thrown her a few bucks for her trouble. Here money meant nothing, and apparently neither did her life or what she wanted. All her dreams were dead in the water, and above all she would never see her baby brother again.

Without putting her down, Kujhade took her and placed her in a small room that she somehow missed on the tour. It was about as big as a walk in closet with nothing in it. He tossed her inside and she had to stick her arms out so she wouldn't bust her face on the wall. He then threw in her clothing and the rest of her belongings. Before he turned to leave he produced one of the largest hunting knives Jasmine had ever seen and laid it on the floor next to her. He stood to his full height that was easily more than seven feet, and looked her over once more.

"You will stay here until you either accept your place, or die the death of a coward. Your choice," Kujhade said and waited for her to put two and two together. When it seemed she understood the choices she had, he turned to leave.

The door closed silently as Jasmine tried to stymie a coughing jag. She melted down on the floor of what she could only think of as a time-out closet. He had just told her she could either take life's lemons to make lemonade, or she could take her own life like a coward. He'd said it as though he expected her to off herself, like she was weak. Slowly Jasmine reached for her pants and slid them on, along with the wife beater she had.

The tears just kept coming and there was nothing she could do to stop them. It was everything all at once, and she didn't want to think about it. She just didn't want to be for a while. Her wet eyes trailed over to the machete-like knife before she closed them against it. No. She would not take the easy way out. She had been through too much, seen too much, been hurt too much, survived too much to allow a knife across her throat or wrists to be the end of Jasmine Anika Bledsoe. She rummaged through her meager belongings and found her comfort. She turned on her music and flipped through the songs until she came to Alicia Keys' "Empire State of Mind" and zoned out. She put her back against the wall, drew her knees up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them. Jasmine cried herself to sleep, and did not dream.


	4. Back To Sleep

Kujhade marched down the hall to the elevators, heading down to see how his clan brothers were faring. Mar'cte especially, considering his temper was even worse than Kujhade's own. Mar'cte had taken two of the females, so Kujhade could only imagine the problems, and he kind of hoped Mar'cte hadn't lost his temper and hurt them. On his way down Kujhade took the time to adjust one of the settings on his gauntlet. An image of Jasmine showed up and hovered above his arm. She was huddled against the wall, and although he couldn't hear her, he thought she was either sleep or doing that crying thing that ooman females seemed prone to do. In truth he had expected her to have already made use of the knife he'd left her, but she didn't appear to have touched it at all.

Kujhade was interrupted in his thoughts when the doors opened. He stepped out and was greeted by the various roars of frustration coming from Mar'cte's quarters. Kujhade's lower mandibles lifted in a yautja version of a grin, as he shook his head and made his way towards the sound.

"Damn these females with their incessant crying and fear!" Mar'cte roared as he came storming out of his own quarters. He stopped at the doorway to growl something unintelligible, presumably to one of his oomans, and then made his way into the hall. Kujhade couldn't contain a trilling laugh at the only other yautja he could actually get along with.

"No one told you to grab two of them Mar'cte. Your greed knows no bounds, and this is where it has landed you," Kujhade said, his arms crossed over his wide chest in an effort to hide his amusement.

"I'm so thrilled that you find my situation entertaining. With your stunning personality and love for oomans, I'm certain your female has already tried to mate with you," Mar'cte replied, words dripping with sarcasm. Kujhade growled under his breath, but Mar'cte paid it no mind as they both walked back towards the elevators.

"She's controlling her fear much to my surprise, but she does not want to be here. I have left her alone with a choice. I will leave her there for seven sun cycles according to the time of her world. We will see what she does," Kujhade said as the doors closed once again with the two inside.

Kujhade looked down at his smaller but fierce brother. Mar'cte stood only just above 6 noks, so Kujhade towered over him, but Mar'cte was a decorated hunter. As a rule no yautja hunted in groups, but the two had shared the footage of their hunts with each other before, and each time Kujhade had been impressed with Mar'cte's cunning and resourcefulness. Mar'cte started programming something on his gauntlet. Kujhade wanted to know what he was doing, but that was a question one simply did not ask.

"I need to kill something. There's a viable hunting planet not too far away. You're welcome to join the hunt," Mar'cte said still putting in the coordinates for his personal ship. Mar'cte knew him too well. Of course Kujhade needed to hunt, if for no other reason than to clear his mind. Mar'cte sent the coordinates to him and Kujhade immediately programmed his own ship as the elevator doors opened onto the hangar.

On cue, the groups of yautja gathered there parted silently as Kujhade made his way to his transport. Yautja were a fickle, rather judgmental group and his albinism made him strange and mysterious among his own. It had been that way since Kujhade was a pup, and at this point he rather enjoyed their aversion because it meant they all stayed out of his way. None of the yautja were physically affectionate with one another, not even mothers to their pups. For Kujhade, that fact had been pronounced. His mother rarely held him even for suckling, forcing him to begin hunting early for sustenance. In fact she had left him in the jungles of their planet at a young age, in the hopes that he would be killed. It was unusual, as she was expected to do that as soon as she saw his condition, but she also saw Kujhade's strength which made her hesitate in that decision. It was only after a year had passed when Kujhade had shown back up from the depths of the jungle, dragging a kill behind him and several trophies, that he was begrudgingly accepted into normal yautja society. He had become the youngest blooded yautja in their recent history and had done so without proper training. He had defied all odds and lived, despite his own kind assuming that his albinism placed him at a distinct disadvantage in terms of the hunt.

From that point on Kujhade had become a living legend, and that wasn't always a good thing. Many rumors spread about him to the point where it was feared he may become a Bad Blood, or that he would do some other dishonorable deed, but he never did. To Kujhade honor was as important to him as it was to any other yautja, or even more so. He made it his business to adhere stringently to their codes of honor, and that helped him rise through the ranks to become the honored warrior he was now. It was this adherence to their culture that was causing his current inner conflict. He wanted to mate, in fact he wanted to sire pups, but to intend to do so with an inferior race such as the ooman woman now in his quarters was an affront to everything he knew. On the other hand, there was no longer any hope of doing so with his own kind. Kujhade had mated twice in his long life. The first time he sired a pup that was normal in every way. Despite his appearance, another female presented herself but when she birthed a pup that was also albino, all the females spurned him. No one wanted his affliction to further muddy the gene pool, and even his living pup distanced himself from Kujhade's bloodline.

He got inside his transport, warmed his engines, and double checked his systems. He then sat in the cockpit, and brought up the image of the woman whose name he did not even know. She was in the same position but not asleep. He didn't know what she was doing, but as of yet she had not chosen the coward's way. Perhaps she would be strong enough. Kujhade donned his mask and took off, ready for a quick hunt.

* * *

Jasmine woke up reluctantly. Coherency came quickly so there was no time to even imagine that she was not still in the nightmare that had ensnared her. The worst part of her captivity, which is how she thought of it, was the elusiveness of time. In space there was no night and day, something you took for granted when it happened so naturally. Her biological clock told her that it was night, and she was inclined to trust it. Her iPod reported back unknown and constantly searched the 'Network' for the correct time. She stretched out her stiff legs before her, trying to wake up her sleeping limbs and grimacing at that crazy tingly feeling as the blood circulated in them. Her mouth felt like she'd eaten a wad of cotton, and immediately her stomach growled loudly, protesting her involuntary fast. She thought it may have been an entire 24-hour period since she had eaten the unidentifiable items on the ship that brought her here. Everything had been so bang-bang that she had forgotten about her hunger until now.

Jazzy searched in vain for anything edible. A piece of candy, a stick of gum, anything would be heaven about now. Her bag had nothing, and just on a whim she patted her pants pockets and felt something. Trying not to get excited, she stood and fished out the item. When she took it out she remembered, and even though it wasn't anything to eat, it was still a comfort. She had pulled out a small nickel bag of weed, and some crumpled up cigarette papers. She felt her other pocket, and was pleasantly surprised to find her old lighter. It looked empty, but if she could get a single spark she'd be the happiest woman on an alien ship. How these items had passed inspection she didn't know and didn't really care. She figured the yautja just didn't know what it was, and since it didn't seem harmful they'd left the items alone. Good. The joint she was now rolling did nada for her hunger except exacerbate it, but it could calm her nerves and zone her out. She'd spent too many hours without a high, and unwelcomed memories and things long buried tended to surface when her mind was not clouded over in a drug induced haze.

Jazzy was careful not to get too overzealous. She only rolled a thin joint, determined to make this small bag of weed last as long as possible. She'd smoked the crack rock in the abandoned subway bathroom, so there was no more of that. She took a pull and coughed, but then settled with her head leaned back against the wall. The abandoned subway seemed like it had happened to another Jasmine in another life, and she supposed that was actually true. That thought inevitably led to thoughts of Marcus, and her brow furrowed with the effort to force that thought back down into the pit it was crawling out of.

After a few pulls, she thought to at least try to get out of the small room. Hunger was driving her to try more than any other reason. She didn't really want to be around her captor, but if she didn't want to starve to death she would have to try something.

"What'd your bitch ass momma always tell you Jazzy? A closed mouth don't get fed," she said to herself. Noticing that she had just spoken out loud to herself, she couldn't help a derisive snort from escaping her.

"That's the beginning of the end you know that right, bitch? Talking to yourself and shit, this is so fucked up," Jazzy said again, scaring herself with how comfortable she just became having a one-sided conversation with herself.

She went to the door and beat on it. When that didn't work she pressed her palms flat against the wall looking for a switch or lock, or whatever the hell opened the door and found nothing. Then she kicked it a few times, but stopped since she was too hungry to exert herself any more than she had to. Then she pressed her ear to the door, assuming that if he was out there she should be able to hear him.

"What the fuck am I even doing? For all I know this shit is soundproof so he can kill my ass and no one would be the wiser," she muttered, settling for just leaning against the door.

She took another pull, this one going down into her belly, calming her but stoking her hunger even more. She looked at the dwindling joint in her hand with something like contempt, then took another pull. Jazzy had a thought then. This thing hadn't killed her, and as far as she knew he had no intention of it at least not yet. It was undoubtedly male judging from the very large imprint she saw under its loin cloth. So maybe it did want what she thought it wanted, what apparently every male wanted no matter which planet he came from. Jasmine pressed herself against the door and spoke.

"Hey, big guy you out there?" Jazzy said in her silkiest voice. "If you're out there I want you to know I'm hungry. I'm willing to let you feed me before I eat if you know what I mean. You look like you like pussy. Do you know what pussy is big daddy?" she said stopping to listen. She heard nothing, but that could mean anything right?

"Listen, if you let me out of here I got some nice, hot, young, tight pussy for you to fuck. Show you how we do this shit back on Earth. You look like you got a big ass dick, but I can handle it. Give you somethin' you never had before, I'll suck it too. I know them bitches back home can't do that. C'mon and let me out, let me break you off some of this good-good," she said pausing again to listen for any sign of movement. When several minutes passed without a peep, she kicked the door again for good measure.

"Well fuck you then bitch! I don't wanna be out there wit'cho ass anyway!" Jazzy screamed as she stalked back over to the far wall and slid down into her balled up position.

 _You can't help whoring yourself out can you Jazzy? Even in space with a man that's not even human, and you just had to offer him your sex. I can't believe I raised a goddamn whore…_

The voice was so close and real, that Jazzy snapped her head up and looked around. It was her mother, berating her as usual. Jasmine looked around, her logical mind knowing for a fact that she just imagined it, but her heart pounded in her chest just the same.

"You're not real," Jazzy whispered to herself. "You're not here, you're still back home probably terrorizing the shit out of Marcus," she whispered again as she looked around wide-eyed in fear. Was she this weak to be losing her mind this quickly?

 _Oh I'm real, and I'm always here. You think you can forget me? You think you can forget what you did? You've been a nasty trifling whore since you were seventeen and you haven't stopped yet…_

Jazzy clamped her hands over her ears as if to block out her mother's voice, but she knew it was no use. It wasn't out there, it was inside her. Desperate to drown it, Jazzy took a long pull from her joint, willing the voice in her head to go away. After a few minutes it did, and with a hungry belly Jasmine fell back into a dismal sleep.


	5. Nice to Meet You

The hunt was more than enough to get his mind cleared. Kujhade had killed not one but two of the large beasts, and taken trophies from both. He had even brought some of the meat back as well, just in case his ooman might be hungry. He loaded his ship with the trophies, and met Mar'cte back in the hangar of the clan ship. When he climbed out if his transport, he saw nothing but a grinning Mar'cte striding up to meet him.

"Did you have a successful hunt Kujhade? Or were you too busy trying to get back to your pet?" Mar'cte joked.

"I'm not the one already headed for my quarters," Kujhade joked back. If he knew Mar'cte as well as he thought, then his brother was going to try to mate one of his females as soon as he was back in their presence.

"I've got trophies to show off and females to mate Kujhade. Maybe if you show your ooman a kill or two she'll come around," Mar'cte said hurrying to his chambers despite teasing Kujhade for supposedly doing the same.

"And maybe if you try purring to yours instead of roaring at them, they might not be so afraid of you," Kujhade remarked as Mar'cte let off a warning growl and disappeared in a waiting elevator.

Kujhade waited patiently for the elevator to return. He had cleaned his trophies in the field, so all that he had to do was put them away and prepare a meal. The clanship had a mess hall of its own, but Kujhade didn't feel that his female was prepared for that. It was all new for all of them having these women living among an entire group of yautja collectively. So bringing them among the others before they had been properly versed in the prevailing customs, was a sure way to have bloodshed between them.

When he entered his quarters, all was quiet and serene. He put his trophies away properly, and then proceeded to the cooking area to prepare the meal. Kujhade stripped his armor off and placed it in the chamber to be cleaned and disinfected. One never knew what hitched a ride when one left a strange planet. He cooked the meal then leisurely took a bath, enjoying the peace and quiet. Eventually he got out of the tub, and had barely put on his codpiece when he heard banging on the door from the female he'd locked away. With no real sense of urgency, he strolled over to the doorway stopping to listen.

"Hey Lite Brite, is that you?" Jazzy called from the other side. She'd woken up having to piss something awful, and was determined not to soil herself with it if she could help it.

She banged on the door harder, all the while prancing and holding her crotch as if that would stem the tide should the tide make an appearance. Kujhade could sense her urgency through the door. Could it be so soon that she wanted to be in his presence….without making trouble? He trilled lightly, surprised that only a little bit of discipline could turn things around so quickly. Coupling that with the fact that she had not killed herself, had Kujhade thinking that this arrangement would not be as awkward for him as he once believed. Pressing the lock on the wall, the doors hissed open and Jazzy shot out of there like a cannon. She was shouting something that translated into curses for him, as she made a beeline to the toilet area. However, the running sparked Kujhade's predatory nature. With his blood still kind of up from the previous hunt, he gave chase roaring as he did so, only to find Jasmine squatted over the toilet with a look of relief on her face.

Jazzy cocked one eye open, her lips going into a thin line at the sight of him. He was standing there in all his glory, with nothing on but a big jockstrap. At first he'd had his mandibles flared in a show of aggression, but had closed his mouth and tilted his head to the side once he realized what was happening. She hadn't been trying to do anything other than relieve herself. He didn't know what all the shouting and cursing was for, but everything seemed fine….until the string of curses started up again.

"You low down dirty muthafucka," Jazzy began in a low voice as she cleaned herself off with a water spout type thing next to the oversized toilet. It was almost a bidet of sorts, and Jasmine was glad for it since there was no tissue to speak of.

"Why the fuck would you leave me in there all that time?! Where the fuck were you at? Out there somewhere having a good goddamn time while I sit in there to fucking rot!" She yelled, stalking right up to him in her anger.

She hadn't noticed yet that he wasn't talking or acting aggressively. In fact Kujhade was rather shamefaced. He had totally forgotten that she had not eaten, and had not even considered any other needs she might have had. He was thinking only of making a point to her. That he owned her, and he would not have trouble out of her.

"The next time you spin off and go to a predator circle jerk, or whatever the hell it is y'all do, do me a favor and DON'T LOCK ME IN THAT FUCKING ROOM!" Jasmine said, furious and shaking with anger.

She may have been a homeless prostitute, but she wasn't a child and would not be treated like one. Then something happened that she was completely unprepared for. Lite Brite started purring. At first it was low, but it caught her attention anyway. When he saw that it had, it got stronger and louder until she felt some of the tension leaving her body.

They were standing face to chest in the doorway of the bathroom, Jasmine with her arms folded across her ample chest. That purring, like the world's biggest house cat, invaded her thoughts and spirit. She didn't like it, but then again she did. It was the weirdest thing that had ever happened to her. It had a stronger effect on her than even her beloved music and that was saying a lot. She felt herself calming down, but she didn't want to be calm. She wanted to rant and rave and shout and curse him for everything she could think of, but she couldn't. Maybe she didn't have a desire to shout it anymore, but she would damn sure say this last thing.

"You can take your knife back too. Lucky I had to pee real bad, or I woulda stabbed your punk ass with it," Jazzy said as if she were sleepy. Her arms slowly unfolded and hung limp at her sides.

His purring increased now that he realized it had the same effect on human females as it did yautja, if not more so. Instead of the angry look, Jasmine's face relaxed and so did the rest of her body. He wanted to see if she would be calm enough for them to have at least the small interaction that was necessary to mate, and for her to mother his pups. He looked down at her clothed body, shaking his head a little in annoyance. He disliked all the clothing humans wore, and decided to make it a requirement for her to remove them while in his private quarters. This would give him a chance to woo her for mating when he was finally in season.

With that in mind he moved to cut the clothes off of her. Immediately Jasmine came out of the stupor that the purring induced and stepped back, alarmed that he would try to touch her. Last time he touched her he damn near choked her to death.

"What do you think you're about to do with those?" Jasmine asked pointing towards his very sharp claws that were poised near the top of her tank.

Kujhade looked down at his hand, then up to her face trying to figure out what was the big deal. Then he figured he should probably talk, remembering the translator she wore. He also remembered he would need to check on that. He grabbed her around the throat earlier in his anger, now he regretted having caused her a great deal of unnecessary pain.

"Take those off," Kujhade said pointing to her clothes, then moving in again to cut them off.

"Alright, alright, alright, damn. I know how to take my own damn clothes off. You don't have to treat me like a baby," Jasmine said. She hesitated a moment, but then shook it off and removed her tank.

Immediately Kujhade's eyes went to her breasts. Jasmine had very nice 38D cup breasts, thank you very much, and she was rather proud of them. Judging by the way his purring had started again, perhaps he was also proud of them. Jasmine was about to take off her jeans too until she caught the unmistakable smell of food. Surprisingly it didn't smell too bad, although she didn't wanna know what it was.

"You got some food Lite Brite? Cause I'm hungry as a hostage right about now," she said and had to snort a laugh at the apropos statement.

"Yes, but this first. Take it off," Kujhade rumbled in his deep baritone.

Jazzy raised an eyebrow, then thought about the proposition she'd made earlier when she thought he could hear her. She couldn't help a smirk as she decided to give a show since food was in the balance. Lord knows she'd done much worse in the name of a bite to eat. Jasmine stepped back making sure to keep eye contact. She then began to hum a beat as she slowly undid her jeans. Jazzy watched as his hands dropped to his side and his head tilted, draping one white shoulder with green and white tendrils. She rolled her hips in time with the slow beat she was humming, as she hooked a thumb in the waist of her jeans and slid them down. She turned her back to him as she bent over, her plump rear exposed as the jeans moved down her once toned thighs. Kujhade's purr faltered as her feminine scent wafted over to him, paired with the sight of the source of it. Finally, she finished her quick little show, kicking her pants the rest of the way off and sauntering back over.

"Now, I did my part Lite Brite. I went ahead and made a deposit in the spank bank for you, wit'cho kinky ass. Can I eat now please?" Jasmine said hands on her hips.

She tried to keep the street sass to a minimum, but she'd been out there too long to let it go. In the back of her mind she knew it could and probably would backfire, but she didn't care. If he killed her it would be a release.

Kujhade grabbed Jasmine suddenly by the hand, and led her to the pit in the room they had first encountered with the glass wall. He reached down and grabbed a small piece of material that looked like it might have been leather and handed it to her.

"Put this on, then you eat" he said simply and walked off towards the dining area.

Jazzy hastily tied the piece of cloth around her waist, and hurried behind him. His lower mandibles raised upwards. This female was course in her language towards him but otherwise obedient. He had to admit that it felt good to hear her small footsteps hurry behind him. If this is what female companionship was going to be, Kujhade thought he could deal with it. Yautja females were near impossible to get along with outside of mating. He had not even copulated with this one and she wasn't that unpleasant to be around.

When they entered the dining area Jazzy found a huge hunk of meat sitting in a deep platter in the middle of the table. She hurried to it and sat down, not caring that the seat she was in was nearly dwarfing her. The meat smelled delicious and looked to be smothered in some sort of curry or spicy thick sauce. Kujhade got two very large plates for them, and dug into the food with his hands. Placing a heaping amount on both their plates.

"What is it?" Jazzy asked. She was amused by the fact that he was always startled when she talked.

"Baghrial meat," he said as he took a big bite. Jazzy shrugged.

"I don't know what the hell that is, but then again I don't know what the hell is in hotdogs neither so…" Jazzy said gobbling a huge bite herself.

It was a little gamey, but other than that it didn't taste too strange. The sauce was good too, but all the flavors were foreign to her. She sat back chewing a wad of meat, happy to be eating something. She looked over to him and stopped chewing her own food just to watch. Really she could have done without the sight. Everything in the whole mouth area was working simultaneously. His mandibles grabbed and held the food, and fed it to his inner mouth. It was quick, and it was like watching a nature show about insects. There was something very spider-like about it, and Jazzy had to turn away from the sight. Maybe she would get used to it, but then hoped she somehow wouldn't be here to let that happen.

Jazzy had got so busy eating, that she hadn't noticed when Kujhade started staring at her. The skin around the translator on her neck was a bit swollen, and he felt ashamed all over again. He would have to remember his strength in dealing with….he didn't even know what to call her.

"Who are you?" He asked her.

"Huh?" She asked while taking another huge bite of food.

"Kujhade," he said with pride, taking a fist and beating his broad chest twice. Then extended a clawed hand to her.

"Oh now you wanna know a bitch name? After you locked me away?" She asked them rolled her eyes. She looked back over at Kujhade who was giving her a hard stare. She sighed heavily.

"Jasmine. Can you say that?" She asked in the softest tone she'd used so far. It had an immediate effect, as he purred a bit.

"Jassssmiinne," he tried then nodded to himself. Since he was able to speak it without a big problem, he decided he wouldn't need to rename her.

"Kuuujjhaaadeeee," He said nodding that she should say it.

"Koo-jah-dee," she tried mimicking his head nod.

Her hand went absently to scratch her neck, but felt a strong hand stop her. She looked up startled. She didn't yet know what ticked him off and what didn't. It seemed to her however, that this Yautja was full of surprises. He reached a large hand out and tenderly rubbed a thumb around the inflamed skin on her neck. She winced and tried to pull back, but even his loose grip was too strong. He began to purr more strongly, as he very gently continued to rub the area. Against her will, Jasmine relaxed in his hand and allowed him the contact. It wasn't as if she could stop him anyway. For a long time he grazed his fingers across her throat, thrilled for the chance to be in contact with an alien female. He had been to Earth many times but only ever for hunting. Any females he'd run into were either worthy prey, or he had simply ignored them. Before he knew what he was doing, his thumb had graze her jawline, and had moved to her oddly soft mouth. He placed his thumb on her lips, wanting her to part them.

There was no way he could have known that what he was doing was considered a form of light foreplay or at least flirtation. It had been since before the night she was kidnapped that she'd had actual sex, and her libido was awakened now without her consent. It was strange that this alien male could pull this kind of reaction out of her, and she tried to keep it together. For all she knew this was just him taking a good look at her, and she was just interpreting it how her body wanted to. His thumb became more insistent as he attempted to pry her mouth open. Half resigning herself because she knew there was no fighting it, and half because Ms. Hello Kitty was trying wake up, Jazzy opened her mouth. When he placed his large thumb inside, she closed her eyes and sucked it softly. She also blamed that damned purring he was doing. It relaxed her mind and body and made her more receptive to him in general. Somewhere in the back of her mind her mother was voicing her extreme disapproval. In truth, Jasmine didn't know what had come over her. Maybe she needed some sex to release some tension, but that would be moving too fast in this situation. This wasn't a John. She could put herself in that headspace, but at the moment he was just Kujhade the predator. Kujhade the predator had his thumb in her mouth, and she was sucking and swirling her tongue around it. By the way his eyes were blazing, Kujhade enjoyed this treatment that must have been foreign as hell to him.

He scooted closer to her and reached his other hand out to explore. Even if he were a prime choice for mating with his kind, touching like this was never done. It was strict rutting only, no touching their private parts at all. Any male adventurous enough to try it received a severe beating from said female. Since he didn't have to fear such repercussions, he felt free to explore this strange one he now owned. She was his, so why shouldn't he have been able to do whatever he wanted? Besides, with how she had taken to his thumb, this must be some kind of mating ritual from her home culture.

Kujhade placed his other hand on her breast and cupped it, feeling its weight and the strange soft skin. It was sort of awkward at the angle they were on, so he stood and motioned her to do the same, but he never removed his thumb. She stood before him, arms down and compliant. He continued to purr at her while he touched her, trying his best not to cut her. He only wished to explore her further. Reluctantly he took his hand from her mouth and placed it on her other breast. He didn't necessarily rub them per se. It became obvious to Jasmine that he really was just looking, but she had a really hard time reminding Hello Kitty of that.

Jazzy had always believed in the old saying that fair exchange was never robbery. With that in mind she decided to do her own explorations on Lite Brite. Since he'd robbed her of his thumb, she decided to take a good look. He was huge, that much went without saying. She only came to his massive chest, which she discovered was as rock solid as it looked. When she touched him the purring stopped abruptly. Jazzy looked up into his leafy green eyes. His mandibles clicked audibly, and he seemed to want to back up, but was unwilling to stop what he was doing.

"It's okay Lite Brite, I'm just doing the same thing you're doing. Is it alright?" she asked using that tone she used to coax shy John's with.

He relaxed but only so much as she continued her open palmed ascent up his chest. Kujhade was a creamy white over his entire front. To the outer edges of his body, his skin went from a very florescent green to a hunter green that covered the entire backside of his body. His hair like tendrils were white and mottled in places with the bright green. They were also long down his back to the top of his waist, and adorned with trinkets and little charms that rattled and clinked together when he moved. His skin was pebbled and textured, and very warm to the touch. She felt his heart beating twice as fast as her own, and much stronger. Her caramel fingers ghosted over his shoulders and down his arms, eventually coming to rest with her hands covering his which were still on her breasts.

Kujhade grabbed her by the wrist and led her to his own personal medical bay. He pressed a series of buttons on the wall, and a smooth metal table rose from the floor. He motioned for her to sit on it, which she did. The effects of his purring were wearing off since he'd stopped.

"What're you gonna do to me?" Jazzy asked and he didn't like the apprehension in her voice.

Kujhade stopped and touched her neck again.

"I hurt you. I will fix it. Lay down," Kujhade said, his voice once again rumbling. Jazzy thought he sounded like an alien Barry White.

She remembered how he had choked her, but hadn't really thought too hard about the abuse. She was so accustomed to physical violence, that she had sort of blown it off. Cautiously Jasmine lay on the warm surface, trying to keep an eye on his movements. Kujhade opened a panel on the nearby wall, and pulled out a wicked looking set of tools and liquids.

"Nah, that's alright Kujhade I'm good," Jasmine said trying to get up. She wanted no part of whatever "doctoring" he was going to do.

A massive hand on her chest easily pushed her back down. He began to purr once more to her, and as expected Jasmine immediately relaxed again. Kujhade took a bottle of clear liquid, and poured a small amount on a bandage type of cloth and dabbed it around the collar. It was cool and soothing, and the discomfort around her collar melted away. She let him move her head this way and that, to get all around the collar. He was being very gentle, and Jazzy thought maybe this was his way of apologizing for his earlier behavior. When he was done, he put everything away and grabbed her wrist again to lead her back to the dining area. He just liked leading her around, because he had no idea why he brought her back to the dining room.

"Thank you," Jasmine muttered, ashamed that she was even trying to adjust so well, and actually making a good go of it.

He whirled around, dreads fanning out around him as he did so. The look on his face was one of shock. Had this female just expressed some form of gratitude to him? She'd taken a step back, thinking maybe her thanks translated into something offensive. Maybe she'd told him to go fuck himself or something. When he made sort of a trilling noise and purred again, she didn't know what to make of his reaction. He certainly hadn't said "you're welcome".

Leading her yet again, they ended up in the room with the pit and the balcony. Jasmine had figured out finally that this must be the bedroom. There was no other room like it in the whole place, and that pit area was obviously a very large bed. Letting her wrist go Kujhade removed his codpiece and stepped down into the fur lined pit. He lay on his back and looked at her, waiting on her to catch the hint.

"You want me to sleep with you?" Jazzy asked with a raised brow. Kujhade nodded.

She couldn't keep her eyes from wandering over his form to land on the sight of his very large, but very flaccid cock. He lay there with no shame, like some kind of alien version of a Greek god.

"Yeah you up to shenanigans, so I'm just gonna sleep in my little closet if you don't mind. See you in the "morning"," She said complete with the quotation fingers.

At first he thought to chastise her for disobedience, but thought maybe it _was_ too fast. He watched as she gathered a few pelts from the pit, and walked to the closet he locked her in before. Jasmine stopped at the doorway, annoyed because now the door opened easily. She took one last look at Kujhade who was sitting up partially, and watching her.

"Good night Kujhade," she said, lingering for a reply. When he gave none she offered one.

"You're s'posed to say 'goodnight Jasmine'."

A few seconds later his baritone rumbled across the open space between them.

"Goodnight Jaaaassssmiinnne."

With that she disappeared into the small closet, to enter another dreamless sleep.


	6. The Girl Is Mine

Kujhade lay among the soft pelts and leathers, looking up at the ceiling and wondering just what he thought he was going to do with her in his bed. His mating season was almost upon him, and it seemed that she would have participated, but when she'd touched him it felt odd. He couldn't remember if he had ever been touch like that before in his life, and decided that he probably hadn't. He couldn't stop his mind from recalling the feel of her soft skin and her breasts, and the soft strangeness of her mouth. The way she had suckled on his thumb was sensual although he couldn't have said why. It didn't seem like an act connected in any way to breeding or sex at all.

While lying there, Kujhade was deciding that he kind of didn't mind having Jasmine around. Perhaps he even sort of liked having her around. She was resilient to say the least. She had accepted her situation, she had not been a coward, and she was not in a constant state of fear or sadness. If she was, she wasn't showing it to him and that was an honorable trait that warranted her some respect. Too tired to think about it anymore, Kujhade rolled over in an attempt to get some sleep.

Jasmine had been tossing and turning all night. She was horny for one thing thanks to Lite Brite and his explorations. She was still slightly disturbed by the fact that she felt more than a little turned on by him. The other issue was she was absolutely tweaking for a high, but she was trying to preserve the last of the marijuana she still had. It was a difficult thing not only because Jasmine was a complete drug addict, but because without it she would remember, and she didn't want to face those demons.

 _You didn't used to be this way Jasmine, my little Jazzy girl. You don't have anyone to blame but yourself for it though_

"I do have somebody else to blame," Jasmine muttered to herself, trying to drive the voice of her mother away.

"I can blame him for what he did, and I can blame you for trusting him over me," Jasmine said again, her face a mask of concentration and will power. She didn't have the mental energy for this.

 _No! That was your fault! I should have known you were a little slut, I should have known you would let….._

Jasmine shot up, struggling to unravel herself from the covers. She scrambled to get her iPod, shoving the earbuds in way too far and blasting some music. She breathed a sigh of relief and sagged against her favorite wall, gathering some of the covers and pulling them up around her shoulders. Jasmine rocked from side to side, trying to drown both the voice and the imagery that it came with. Her eyes strayed over to her jeans where the last of the weed resided. She was about to reach for it, but something inside her made her pull her hand back. It would be gone in a little while, and when it was what would she do then? Jasmine would be forced by the lack of options to face all the things she used the drugs, and the men, and the bad attitude, and the sex to cover up. The thought alone scared her more than her current circumstances.

The music was starting to work, as Jasmine felt her lids grow heavy and her mother's voice grow distant. It would be better tomorrow. It had to be.

* * *

Jasmine awoke to complete silence. She begrudgingly sat up, touching a finger to her swollen eyes. She must have been crying all night….again. Jazzy gathered together all the little toiletries she'd been given the day she arrived, and headed to the bathing area. She took the time to really familiarize herself with what was actually in the room, hoping that she didn't need help to work any of it or mess anything up. It was basically a bathhouse, and with the amount of heat pumping through the air ducts, it was just a notch or two under being a sauna. In the middle of the floor was a very large tub, which was about the size of a small swimming pool. It might have been water, but it wasn't clear and smelled herbal or medicinal. There was a column off to one side however, which looked suspiciously like where one might shower. When she walked up to it, it immediately turned on, shooting water everywhere and scaring her half to death.

Once she realized that it was only water, she chuckled to herself and stripped to jump in. The only weird thing was that there was no partition, or shower door or curtain. She opened the small travel size bottle of cheap shower gel, and poured it onto the equally cheap washcloth she'd gotten from the crates. Even back on the ship that brought her here there had been regular showers, and it felt good to continue getting them. A girl could get used to being human again. As she washed, Jasmine began to softly sing the words to one of her favorite songs, Bag Lady by Erykah Badu. She closed her eyes and let the water run over her fluffy, curly, long hair and sang.

 _Bag lady, you gon' hurt yo back  
Draggin' all them bags like that  
I guess nobody ever told you  
All you must hold on to  
Is you, is you, is you_

Jasmine had started to get into the song, taking her time under the wonderfully warm running water. She didn't notice the predator rising from the depths of the tub, where only the top of his crest to his eyes were above water level. He had been bathing, and doing his daily training for holding his breath for long periods of time, when he heard her come in. He wasn't going to disturb her, but when he heard her make the strange noise she was now making, he became intrigued.

Without making a single sound, Kujhade watched her as she moved. He watched as the water ran over her naked form. He thought for the most part she really did look like a smaller version of a yautja female. Her rear end was ample as were her breasts. He thought she could use some training to make her body firmer, but otherwise Kujhade thought he was finding some attraction for her. That had started yesterday when he was touching her, her skin was soft and pliable. Now, she was making a pleasant noise that he had never heard an ooman make before. The yautja both sang and dance. It wasn't a huge part of their culture, but they weren't foreign to it either. The difference was the singing and dancing for them, was tied to sending off the unblooded to their chivas. This was very different, but she seemed to be enjoying it either way. If he were being honest with himself, he was also enjoying her show. She had begun to dance, the water glistening off her body and hair. He couldn't help a low purr from escaping him, rippling the water around him.

Jasmine opened her eyes, and looked around startled when she saw just the top of Kujhade's head and his eyes. She hadn't known he was there, and it reminded her just what he was and that she shouldn't forget it.

"Kujhade," was all she could manage. He rose out of the water in all his naked glory, purring as he came towards her.

"How did you get in here so quietly?" She asked not even sure if she wanted the answer to that.

"I was already here, in the water," he replied taking in the sight of her. It made her feel two parts uncomfortable, and one part desirable.

Jasmine stepped away from the column, and as she suspected the water stopped. Kujhade strode over to a bin full of furs, grabbed two, and tossed one to her while keeping one for himself. He began to towel off, standing in front of her and keeping up a low purr. Jasmine could have sworn he was trying to tantalize her with how deliberate he was being in his movements. He toweled off very slowly, pleased with how she was staring at his body. Never before had a female ever shown open appreciation for his physique no matter how he showed off, and he was very much enjoying her eyes all over him. His plan was to create these situations where they would be forced to look at each other, with the possibility to incite attraction. He thought if he was successful in this, she would be more receptive and willing to mate when the time came.

"Kujhade," Jazzy said, snapping her fingers to get his attention. "Kujhaaadeeee," she said again in a sing-song voice. He gave a single grunt, with his eyes snapping up from her body to look at her face. He hadn't meant to get quite that distracted.

"You think it'll be alright if we get out of here today? I wanna see the other women," Jazzy said on her way past him to leave.

"Sei-i," he replied.

This was good. She wanted to go around with him, be seen with him. Kujhade didn't know how to feel about that. He never really liked oomans in general, and was ashamed that he liked Jasmine as much as he did. She was agreeable for the most part, and she gave him a new feeling. Jasmine wasn't constantly avoiding him, and she had even willingly touched him without disgust over his looks. It didn't seem like his abnormal coloring was of any concern to her, and that was a very new thing for him. Certainly something to get used to.

She had went to put on that little loincloth thing he wanted her to wear, along with her tank top. He was waiting for her at the door, but when he saw her he immediately started shaking his head.

"No," Kujhade said, reaching for her loincloth to take it off. Jazzy swiped at his hands and stepped back.

"Now hold up, I'm alright with giving in to your little kinky rule about walking around here naked, but I'm not walking around this ship with nothing on my ass," Jazzy said, upset that he would even suggest it.

"Your clothes. Put on _your_ clothes," Kujhade said and then she understood. A sly smile found its way to her face.

"Oooh, okay I see what this is. You only want me half naked around you, but not around the whole crew," she said as Kujhade nodded.

"So does that make me officially your girlfriend?" Jazzy asked playfully, with her hand on her hip and her hair tossed to one side. Kujhade looked confused.

"Does this mean you're my man? You know, are we together Lite Brite?" she asked again playfully and was startled when he stepped all the way up to her and pressed himself against her.

"Yes, you are my mate. No other male can have you," Kujhade said, stunned that he actually felt the possessive feelings to accompany the words.

He understood what she meant. She was asking if she was his mate, and she was regardless of having not done the act. Kujhade didn't want the other males on the ship getting any ideas. He knew many of them jumped at the chance to have human women around to mate with, but his wasn't on the menu. No, he wanted her to wear her own clothes when out and about. If any male challenged him for her, he would hurt them plain and simple.

"Okay, Kujhade," Jazzy said almost bashfully, and immediately went to put on her jeans.

When she was finally ready he took her by the hand and led her to the elevators. They got on and rode for a short while in comfortable silence. When the doors opened again, Jazzy could hear the sound of people, and it brought a smile to her face. She hadn't realized how much she missed human contact.

A short distance down a hall opened up into a very large comfortable looking space. The floors were lined with soft pillows and furs of every kind. To Jazzy's amazement music was playing over some kind of sound system, and she saw a group of women sitting all around. Brenda was sitting in the middle and Jasmine was pleased to see she was looking really well. Jazzy had thought maybe the withdrawal would have been too much for the blonde, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"Brenda!" Jasmine said, running to the woman with her arms open.

"Hey sweet meat, how've you been these last few days?" Brenda asked as the two women hugged briefly.

"Well you know, it is what it is. I'll be alright," Jasmine answered. Truth was she was only okay during the days. It was her nights that were hell on wheels.

"So how have you been holding up? You look like you keep up a lot of shit. You ain't down here wreaking havoc on these poor aliens are you?" Jazzy joked, glad to see the blonde break out into a surprisingly girly giggle.

"Shit, these damn predators are something else I'm tellin' ya. You know they got us doing what we do best right?" Brenda said conspiratorially as she beckoned Jazzy to sit with her.

"What? Like a brothel? Have you fucked one yet?" Jazzy asked as she plopped down on a very soft pillow.

"One? Girl please, I've had two a day since I been here. Some of the girls couldn't take it though. Committed suicide right after we got down here," Brenda said, crossing herself.

"Oh," Jasmine managed, thinking back on the choice she had been given not too long ago.

"I mean, but are you alright? They haven't hurt you have they?" Jasmine asked. Brenda shook her head, and started grinning.

"To be honest as hell with you, this has been some of the best sex I've ever had in my life. They're very considerate actually. A bit on the savage side, and I hate all that goddamn roaring they do, but otherwise it's like screwing the best porn star times a hundred," Brenda said as they both laughed.

"May I ask a personal question Brenda?" Jasmine asked, to which the blonde nodded her assent.

"How have you been doing with, you know, the addiction and the withdrawal and stuff?" Jasmine knew that was a sensitive subject for any addict, but the blonde looked much better and Jazzy wanted to know.

"I think these smart motherfuckers knew there was something not quite right with us. I don't know if they knew anything about drugs per se, but when I got too bad off they gave me this really gross shit to drink. I hate it, but it does ease all the shit I go through. I still miss my shit though, I'm not gonna lie. You?" Brenda asked.

"I got the smallest fucking bag of weed known to man, and I'm trying to stench it out. It ain't gonna make it though," Jazzy replied. Brenda nodded.

Just at that moment Kujhade, who had been standing sentinel and not allowing any other males in the space, checked his gauntlet.

"I have been summoned by the high elder. Come. I will take you back," Kujhade said holding out a clawed hand to her.

"I wanna stay Kujhade," Jazzy said, waiting to see his reaction.

Kujhade held his hand out a few moments more, before clicking his mandibles together tightly in annoyance. Slowly he retracted his hand, thinking that it wasn't a good idea to leave her there. Any male could come in there and mate her, and he wouldn't be around to prevent it. On the other hand, she had not asked for much or been very difficult to deal with. If being with her own kind was a comfort, then he would ensure it was available to her.

"Do not leave this room. I will come back for you. Do you understand?" Kujhade demanded in his most stern voice.

"Alright damn. I won't leave," Jasmine answered not really liking being told what to do like that.

With that, Kujhade turned to leave. Before long, he'd made it to the elder's quarters.

"Kujhade," the Elder said turning away from a large control panel and screen that took up the entire wall.

"For the last day or two, the ship's bio-scan has been down. Usually it rights itself, but not this time. Until this problem is rectified, I am assigning a few hunters to patrol the entire lower quadrant of the ship," the Elder said.

"You want me to do this patrol? Are there any others who can perform this duty?" Kujhade asked. This wasn't something that an honored warrior was asked to do. Out of respect Kujhade didn't say so, but there was something Bakuub wasn't telling him.

"I have sent some of the youngbloods to do early patrol. I wish for you and one other to take late watch. You can never be too careful," Bakuub said, dismissing Kujhade.

Kujhade took his leave, still not liking the menial assignment. Generally while they did tend to take orders from their Elder, it wasn't ran like a military. It wouldn't be a good idea to disregard this assignment, although Kujhade's rank would have allowed it. Perhaps it was best to investigate things for himself. There was something in the Elders eyes that concerned him. Bakuub was stalwart and stoic. Very few things could draw a reaction from him, which was why he'd made it to be an elder in charge of a clan ship.

"Kujhade, I was looking for you," Mar'cte said striding up to the taller yautja. Kujhade didn't want to be distracted. He needed to make sure no males had gotten around to Jasmine.

"What is it Mar'cte? I have business to attend," Kujhade said, not meaning to sound so put out.

"Hunting. Thought you might want to break away from your mating frenzy long enough to recall that you do hunt," Mar'cte said with uplifted lower mandibles. Kujhade thought he must have been the happiest yautja he'd ever witnessed.

"No, I've been given another assignment. Patrolling the lower quadrant of the ship," Kujhade admitted.

"What in Paya's name did you do to piss off Bakuub?" Mar'cte asked unable to hide the mirth in his eyes.

"Nothing Mar'cte. He didn't say, but I think he's more concerned about the fact that the ship's bio-scan is down in that area than he's letting on. He says he's just being cautious, and maybe that's true. So I'm on patrol in a short while. I've got to go," Kujhade said walking off without giving Mar'cte a chance to respond.

* * *

It hadn't taken him long to get back to the place that he had explicitly told Jasmine not to leave. There were women there and fellow males looking to mate, but Jasmine and the woman she was talking to were nowhere to be found. Kujhade growled in frustration and fledgling anger. How could she disobey? Didn't she know the risks? She would never be allowed out again since she couldn't listen to simple orders. Angrily he burst into several rooms, ready to kill any male who dared mate her. He'd interrupted a few mating sessions, but still no Jasmine.

Kujhade tried to calm down enough to think. Perhaps she went back to his quarters. He raced back looking for her, but when he got there, he saw no sign of her. There was only one other place to look before he would have to simply tear the ship apart piece by piece.

He went back down past the pillow room to a storage room not too far from it. Down a short hall, and up a small flight of stairs that he cleared with one leap, Kujhade walked in on a scene that made him livid. The blonde was on the floor trying to recover apparently. A male almost as large as Kujhade himself had Jasmine cornered, and he seemed to be pinning her against the wall with one hand, and ripping at her clothes with the other. She had something in her hands, and he could smell the fear coming from her.

Kujhade let out a tremendous roar, complete with arched back, flared mandibles, and claws splayed. The other male barely had a chance to react before Kujhade was across the room and on him in a flurry of claws, dreads, and eventually blood. Although the other male was of comparable size and strength, he was obviously younger than, and not as experienced as Kujhade. The fight lasted all of two or three minutes, and ended with Kujhade kneeling on the other male's chest with his wrist blades at his throat.

"Get a good look at that ooman female," Kujhade growled. The bested male reluctantly looked Jasmine's way.

"She belongs to me. If you touch her again, I will not have as much mercy. I will not speak of your dishonorable actions of attacking two unarmed females…this time. Thank Paya." Kujhade demanded before getting up.

Quickly he grabbed both the blonde and Jasmine and lead them out. He dropped the blonde off, before practically pulling Jasmine by the arm.

"Kujhade, you're hurting me," Jasmine complained in a small voice. His anger was rolling off of him in waves, and he didn't reply or let her go.

When they got back to his quarters, he continued to drag her to the medical room to inspect her. He sat her down and just looked at her for a second, his mouth working as if he was struggling to find words.

"Take it off. All of it," Kujhade in an even tone. Jasmine quietly did what he asked, and then sat back down on the metal table.

With a tenderness that belied his obvious anger, he inspected her body. She had a bloodied mouth, and scratches all around her abdomen and the tops of her hips.

"What did he do to you? Did he try to mate with you?" Kujhade asked, still trembling with emotion.

"He wanted to have sex with me, but I didn't do it I promise. He grabbed me and pushed me against the wall, then he tried to make me take my pants off. When I refused he tried to rip them off, and that's when you came in," she answered, not sure why it was important to her for him to know that she hadn't had sex.

With a huff, he got out some medical supplies and dabbed that same liquid all over her cuts. After a few minutes he was done, then he grabbed her again although not quite as roughly. He was leading her to the closet room until she started really protesting.

"No! Don't put me in there! I'm not a kid, you can't treat me like this," she screamed becoming somewhat hysterical about it, and struggling mightily in his grip.

"I told you not to leave that room, did I not? You left anyway, and if I had not shown up, he would have hurt you. He would have had you!" Kujhade yelled in her face, as he grabbed her by her shoulders and lifted her to look him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry," Jasmine said, unable to hold it together. She started crying, her body going limp. The encounter had actually scared her.

Something inside of Kujhade gave way. He could only think about punishing her, teaching her a lesson, locking her away so that no other male could ever hope to get even a scent of her. Now she was crying, and he couldn't help the purr that it pulled from him almost against his will. Slowly, he brought her close to him so that she felt the vibration in his chest. He never held any living thing this close to him that he did not intend to kill.

Jasmine wrapped her arms around him as much as she could. She knew he was mad at her, but she also saw his fierce protection of her as well. The other one had frightened her because she didn't know what he fully intended to do. Even though Kujhade had a temper, he wasn't making a point of constantly trying to hurt or frighten her. Jasmine buried her face in his alien chest, taking in his alien scent, and let his purr flow through her.


	7. What Lies Beneath

This was the second night of patrol that Kujhade had to do. The first night was uneventful, as he had expected it to be. He had checked the cargo hold, the loading bay, the engine rooms, and even the hangar and he'd found nothing out of the ordinary. However, it didn't ease his mind at all. In fact it had him even more concerned that the bio-scan was still not working properly. It was a very important system because it detected any and all foreign living organisms on board. For the most part the scans were used to make sure no Hard Meat had hitched a ride on any of the ships. Their kind was especially destructive to any planet's ecosystem, and seeding them was careful work. If you were unmindful, you could carry them from planet to planet, risking the lives of an entire clan in the process.

So instead of being pissed off that he had been called to do grunt work, Kujhade had taken the task more seriously. After all, this ship held entire clans, meaning some of the hunters here had brought along their pups for training, and there were even a few females aboard. In rare instances, a couple would life-mate and thus travel everywhere together. Kujhade would not risk them by half doing his job. In light of that, he did the patrol this time with his full armor including his mask that had its own bio-scan installed. He even brought his favorite weapon. It was metal and appeared to be a short sword, but with the press of a button on its handle to release its magnetic hold, became a very long sharpened whip. He kept it slung on his hip.

Kujhade had reached the cargo hold this night as his last stop. He checked every corner and crevice. All of the ships supplies were held here except some emergency items, and of course weapons. There were plenty of the crates that the humans had dropped off with the females. There were medical supplies for both human and yautja, and also various items acquired from other worlds and conquered enemies. There was even a series of crates that acted as a sort of lost and found, where miscellaneous items were kept. They were odd and end things from all over the galaxies, including things from Earth.

Deliberately Kujhade moved through the orderly stacks of crates, and the various structures in the large space. His scan was engaged, and his weapons at the ready as he moved silently. The only thing he didn't have with him was his plasma cannon. He didn't want to damage the ship should anything come to that. Any other yautja would have laughed at him and called him a youngblood had they seen how cautious he was being, but something in Kujhade's gut didn't feel right.

He had almost covered the entire area when he stepped into something on the floor. Looking down he saw it was a goopy substance that trailed off to one side. Kujhade was no amateur. He had seen enough Hard Meats and their eggs and nests, to know exactly what this was, but how? Where had it come from? They hadn't had any aliens come to the ship except…..damn oomans!

"C'jit!" Kujhade exclaimed, but he didn't really have time to be angry. He had to dispose of them immediately.

He changed views on his mask in order to track the substance to its source. Not too far away the trail ended cold. There was nothing there, no eggs, no nest, not even a bigger pile of goop. There was just nothing at all. Quickly Kujhade did another sweep of the entire cargo hold and found nothing. Perhaps it had already found a host? His mind went immediately to Jasmine. They'd been out together and she had even spent time out of his presence. Enough time to get into trouble with a male, and enough time to become a victim of a hard meat's face-hugger. It was an unlikely scenario given what he knew about Hard Meats, but the small chance existed. First thing was first though. He would need to report this back to the Elder as soon as possible. Kujhade didn't waste another minute, as he headed directly to the Elder's quarters.

* * *

Despite her little scare the day before, Jasmine had scored big. Brenda had taken her to another of the ladies named Mimi, who gave her a nice amount of weed to replenish her stash. She'd grabbed up some new athletic shoes to replace her old worn ones, she had discovered she could charge her iPod the same way Kujhade charged his mask, and she could even play it over a sort of intercom system that could be confined to his private living space.

Kujhade was gone, probably all night. Jasmine lit up a joint, and started smoking. It wasn't a blunt, and she sort of wished she had a stronger drug, but this was plenty good enough. She put on her new shoes, and just tossed her old ones into the closet that was now her de facto bedroom. There was no mirror, but she just knew she looked cute in her Jane of the Jungle skirt and her now half shredded tank. She had eaten already, and found herself if the room with the fantastic view of deep space. Jazzy connected her iPod to the intercom system, delighted that it had actually worked. She could hear the music permeate the place, but couldn't discern any actual speakers. She didn't care where it came from, just so long as it worked. She figured a race who could travel the outer reaches of space could surely figure out Bluetooth, although her device was neither connected through Bluetooth or wifi. She chuckled to herself, thinking that should be a good selling point for that thing. The iPod, works in the last frontier.

Jazzy put Suit and Tie on repeat, and glided to the middle of the floor, lit joint in hand. She started to just move to the music, the movements at first feeling unfamiliar. Her curly hair covered her eyes and draped down her back, bouncing as she moved. By the second time the song played, she had finished smoking and was actually paying attention to her dancing. Jazzy had forgotten just how therapeutic it could be. It had been just her music and dancing that had gotten her through so much. She didn't know why she ever left it alone, in favor of drugs that would eventually ruin her. She let her playlist move on to another JT song, My Love. She used to always love dancing to it, and even remembered the routine she had created for it. By the time Kujhade came bursting through the door, Jazzy had worked up a little sweat and breathing harder than she wanted to admit. She hadn't heard him come in, so nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt two clawed hands grab her and spin her around.

"What the fuck?! Scared the shit outta me!" Jazzy shouted, her heart pounding in her chest.

Kujhade said nothing. He had just come from telling the Elder about what he'd seen. He was now running a scan on Jasmine just to be safe. He flipped through every single range of vision he had, and relaxed his grip only when he found nothing wrong. He finally let her go, visibly relaxing as he reached to take off his mask.

"What in the actual fuck was that all about?" Jazzy asked, with a bemused look on her face. She took a good look at him, having never seen him in full predator regalia.

Relieved, but also quite agitated, Kujhade placed his mask on the charging station and uploaded the night's patrol to the ship's database. He started taking his armor off, but when the mesh did not retract into it like it was supposed to, Kujhade growled low in his frustration. She could sense his disquiet and became concerned herself. After all, whatever had him appearing to almost be worried, might be something she should be just as worried about. Jazzy went over to him and lay a cautious hand on his arm. Kujhade whirled around with a grunt, and stared her down.

"Sorry," Jazzy said inching her hand back. "I just wanted to help you get that off," she said, slowly inching her hand back over to his arm.

Kujhade stared at the small hand coming his way, but didn't move or protest. She reached up to where she thought he was pressing, but she was going the wrong way. He grabbed her hand in his own, and guided it to a button on the armor just above his ribcage. He really shouldn't have been showing her how to work his armor, just in case she got any funny ideas about using it, but right now he was too frustrated to care. She had asked him what was wrong, but he didn't want to tell her. She probably didn't know what Hard Meats were, and he didn't feel like going into it.

Her delicate fingers managed what he could not. The mesh around his body slid into its housing without issue. He guided her hand again to where his armor released from his body completely, starting with the shoulder guards. Jazzy reached around his back to feel the small manual latch, and his shoulder guard fell. He caught it before it could hit the floor, and placed it on its stand behind him. Without having to be guided, Jasmine used her left hand to release the second guard.

There was something about this moment that was intimate for her. Maybe it was because she knew that this act wasn't something that a being like him would allow someone else to do. In that moment, she understood how sacred it was for him. His armor, his weapons, his person, were all closely guarded and yet he was letting her touch them. With that in mind, she tried to be as gentle and respectful as possible. She slid her hand down his side, and lightly touched the handle of his prized weapon. She looked into his eyes for silent permission, and when he nodded ever so slightly she removed it from his waist and handed it to him.

Kujhade had went completely rigid, but did not protest her offer to help him take off his armor. He had to get over this touching business and quickly. How would he mate if he did not even wish to be touched? The reality was that he had never been touched by anything he wasn't fighting, including the mothers of the two pups he had. Having lived a life without affection, did not allow one to become accustomed to it suddenly. However, he was discovering that he wanted what Jasmine seemed to be offering. She was different, she expressed herself differently, she wanted to talk to him, and from what he could see she wanted to be around him.

Jasmine had squatted in front of him and was undoing his shin guards, tapping his legs so that he would step out of them. She placed them to the side, but did not rise from her spot. Instead, she glided her hands up his calves, feeling them, touching his thick hide and feeling its strange texture. She felt how uncomfortable he was, and she also felt how much he was forcing himself to tolerate it. Usually in these situations, she would leave him alone once she saw he was unreceptive. This time she kept going. Jazzy was young, and at times could be naïve, but she wasn't stupid. Jasmine understood clearly that Kujhade intended to have sex with her at some point, probably in the not too distant future. She didn't want to admit that his constant walking around pretty much naked, was having the desired effect. Alien or not, Kujhade was built like an Adonis. There was not a single area of disproportion anywhere. His tree trunk legs, huge muscled thighs, and the ripped abdomen her hands were now plastered on, were breaking down her resolve. She'd told herself that she couldn't, wouldn't become attracted to anything with mandibles and no nose, but that was crumbling to itty bitty pieces. Kujhade was everything that millions of years of evolution had hardwired her to desire in a male. Kujhade was quite literally the strong hunter gatherer, possessing every trait that one would imagine came with that title.

Jasmine had completed the journey up his body until she was back face to chest with him. She looked up into his face. His mouth was closed tightly and so were his eyes until he opened them. Kujhade couldn't find words for it. Her touches were like the bellows to a small fire, stoking it until it became a roaring flame. She lay her head upon his wide chest, with her arms around him. He was relaxing into it, when she began to do something else to him. Her fingers toyed with the tips of his tendrils, eliciting a startled grunt and a purr. She stopped, unsure now if she should have touched them, but his continued purring encouraged her. Jazzy caressed the thick hair again, rolling the ends gently in her fingertips. Kujhade couldn't stop his eyes from fluttering a little, as he tilted his large head back and gave in to her hands.

"You like this huh?" Jazzy asked rhetorically. It made her feel accomplished that she found something she could do to get this reaction. His resounding purr told her that he liked what she was doing very much.

Jazzy pressed her body up against his tightly, while she stroked his hair even more. Purposely, she rubbed her breasts against his hard chest, her nipples hardening from the intense vibration. She couldn't have explained why she did what she did next, but she still blamed his purring for it. Jasmine licked his chest, hesitantly at first. His purring faltered, but his hands that had been at his sides like a soldier, had found their way back around her shoulders. Then she licked him again, trailing her tongue along the hard plains of his chest, down to the rippled landscape of his abs.

Her music had kept playing in the background. It landed on one of her favorite sexy songs, and she moved her body sensually along Kujhade's front. She turned her back to him, and moved her body seductively running her hands along the front of his thighs.

Music was strange, but her movements were very familiar. It was as if she were begging him to mate her right here and now. He opened his mandibles wide, taking in her scent. It almost made him dizzy. He didn't even know what he was waiting on. She could neither fight nor hurt him. There was nothing that could stop him from breeding her, until he was sure she was carrying his pup. All of that was the bravado of an awakened libido. He reached an unsure hand down to her hair, and stroked it as she had done to him. She allowed it, but it didn't seem to have quite the same effect. Jasmine had turned back around to face him as the strange music ended. Her skin was warm, and her pulse was quickened.

Kujhade's palm was on her cheek, and she could no longer care about how inhuman he was. At the moment, he was a male and she was a female and that was all that mattered. Despite the circumstances surrounding her arrival, he had taken her with him, and he had cared for her as much as she thought his kind could care for a woman. He wasn't any worse than any of the men she had encountered in her life. As a matter of fact, he was quite a few notches better than most of them. For instance, it was clear what he wanted from her, yet in spite of having every advantage, he had not forced her to bed him. It was more than what she could say for more than a couple of human men she had the displeasure of knowing.

She didn't know if she was truly ready for sex with Kujhade, but Jasmine decided that she should probably not waste time with it. If he wanted her, he might be running out of patience for all the teasing going on between them. Jasmine reached for his loincloth about to pull it down, until a large clawed hand stopped her.

"No," Kujhade said as softly as his deep rumble would allow.

"Okay," Jasmine said in a small voice, feeling embarrassed for perhaps being too forward.

 _Whore_

She pulled away and started going towards her closet room, until that same hand tightened its grip. She turned to face Kujhade who was still shaking his head.

"No," he said and pulled her to his bedding.

Jasmine could have protested it. Could have insisted she sleep in her own room, which he was gracious enough to create a mini pit in. She could tell him no, or otherwise decline, but who would she be fooling? Maybe him if she lied hard enough, but she couldn't fool herself. Jazzy wanted very much to lay in bed with Kujhade.

He stepped down into the furs, gently tugging her along. Jasmine kicked off her shoes and followed. Kujhade had never felt so unsure about anything in his life. It was all so new, but somehow it just seemed right. A hunter lived by his instinct, and there were very few hard and fast rules to follow. He found that for this situation there were simply no rules at all except that of the hunt. Do not harm the innocent who cannot provide sport, do not kill children, and do not forcibly mate any female yautja or otherwise. He was well within the law on all counts. He did not intend to do anything to bring himself dishonor. To prove it, he did not remove his lower cloth. Kujhade's only desire right now was to feel another presence. To experience what it would be like to have a female around him, close to him, wanting him, and touching him. He had done a bit of research on some human mating rituals and things they considered intimate, and sharing sleeping quarters was one of the things he'd found highly interesting. It was an odd notion that the act of getting sleep even while in the same space could be tied to coupling, but he wanted to try it. He wanted to see for himself if he felt any closer to her after this night.

Kujhade lay down, bringing an apprehensive Jasmine to lay beside him. She lay on her side facing him. At first he lay on his back, but even though they were technically in close proximity, it still seemed too far away. He rolled over to face her, her eyes glued to every place on his body that she could see. She finally looked into his face. With a tentative hand she reached out to lightly touch his lower jaw. Slowly he opened all four trying to encourage her exploration. Her fingers touched his inner cheek, and he struggled not to snap his mandibles closed. Her hands didn't linger long at his mouth. It traveled up reaching for his brow, then for his upper crest. He leaned forward to allow the exploration, marveling that it felt very nice to be touched in those places. He reached an arm around her, making deliberate moves so that she wouldn't become frightened. She shocked him when she instinctively moved closer, and brought his arm down around her small waist.

"It's okay to hold each other," Jasmine said as she nestled herself in the circle of his arms.

He purred in response and gripped her tightly in his embrace. The feel of her heartbeat, her soft skin, her large soft breasts, her feminine scent, all told him that his instincts were correct. This may not be tradition, but it was right. This was right. Dare he think it, they were right together.

* * *

It was time now for the ship's bio-scan to be brought back online. She'd had her two days to incubate. It was tricky business to not be accounted for while in the bowels of a well-protected Yautja ship. Now it was time for the second part of her programming. Nothing less than the annihilation of this Yautja clan ship. The only other objective was to bring back the technology. She lay in bed staring at the ceiling. Only a little more time before she was strong enough. She only needed to infect a few women, and then she could complete the task given to her. They'd combined her DNA with that of a frozen Xenomorph Queen. All of the strengths, but none of the weaknesses. She didn't need to lay eggs. All she needed to do was to infect, and she could breed lesser versions of her unique kind. Human ingenuity at its finest, courtesy of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. They were building a better future.


	8. Monster

**A/N: This chapter deals with a very unfortunate subject, and may be triggering. I open with a rape/molestation, and I touch on the subsequent trauma, so read at your own risk.**

* * *

The day was crisp but clear, as the fall leaves fell upon the school grounds in bright oranges, yellows, and reds. Jasmine stood outside the gymnasium doors, fiddling with her cell phone. She had run out of bus fare, and had arranged for her step father to pick her up from dance practice. He was late, as usual.

Jasmine hated Terrell, but he was Marcus' father and her mother loved the ground he walked on. Jasmine couldn't stand him because he treated her mother badly, and he was always leering at her. Jasmine would always catch him giving her lascivious looks from the corner of her eye. He didn't used to do that, but when she turned fifteen and filled out he started talking to her more. Then he wanted to be around her, acting like a good step father. Jasmine was always suspicious of his sudden change in behavior. Before her body decided it wanted to tackle puberty head on, he hardly paid Jasmine any attention. He purposely and obviously played favorites, preferring his own child over her.

Jasmine had just taken a seat on a bench outside the school when she saw Terrell pull up.

"Hey beautiful, come on let's go," he called from the driver's side, leaning down to look at her as she crossed over and opened the passenger side door.

"You too damn good to speak?" Terrell asked annoyed, as he apparently refused to budge the car until Jasmine spoke kindly to him. He always liked to do annoying shit like that.

"Hey Terrell," she managed as she looked out of the window. She didn't want to see his face.

"Look at me when you talk," he said, loving the fact that he was making her uncomfortable as well as pissing her off.

Jasmine looked his way, managing to smile and show off her dimples.

"Hello Terrell. How are you Terrell?" Jasmine said as her stomach did a lazy flop at the sight of his satisfied grin.

"Now, that's better. Shit that wasn't that hard was it?" Terrell said as he placed a hand on her mid-thigh and squeezed it. He let it linger until she moved her leg a little.

She had just come from dance practice. Jazzy hadn't had time to change out of her dance clothes, so she still had on a pair of leggings that she tried to cover with a long tunic. She could feel his rough hands through the thin material, and it made her skin crawl. Finally he pulled off and headed home, where he could hurry up and jump back on his beloved football game. That's all he did all day anyway. He was a shiftless, lazy, ex-con that Jazzy couldn't understand her mother's attraction to. Sure, he was fairly handsome, but that wasn't good enough as far as Jazzy was concerned. Her own father had been a much better man, and she didn't understand how her mother could have such bad taste in men after being with her dad.

They pulled up to their apartment building, where Jasmine damn near jumped out of the car before he was done parking it. She hurried inside the building, taking the stairs because she knew he would be too lazy to follow behind her. Jasmine made it to the three bedroom apartment they all shared. She immediately went to her room to change her clothes. She would have taken a shower too, she needed one, but she couldn't fathom the thought of getting naked while he was just in another room under the same roof.

Terrell came sauntering into the house a couple of minutes after her. She had already finished changing into some jogging pants and a t-shirt when he came in. As predicted, he flopped onto the couch in the living room and proceeded to resume his game. She didn't miss the fact that he watched her as she crossed in front of him on her way to the kitchen. Immediately he jumped up right behind her and just stood in the kitchen doorway, while Jasmine made a quick lunch. It was just going to be a lunchmeat sandwich and some juice.

"You crossed in front of me, but you didn't even say excuse me or nothing. Your momma need to teach you some damn manners," he said, looking her up and down openly.

Jasmine sighed heavily, but otherwise didn't reply to it. He was extra annoying, but usually when she ignored him he tended to leave it be. This day was different. This time he wasn't going to leave it alone.

"Say excuse me," he said, again pleased with himself that he was getting under her skin.

"Say excuse me for what? Leave me alone. Go back and play your stupid game. Mom's gonna be back soon anyway," she said, then suddenly she thought of Marcus. He should have been here with them.

"Where is Marcus at?" Jazzy tried to demand. Terrell only smirked at her.

"I sent him to his friend's house. It's just you and me. Now, you gonna say sorry for making me mess up my game? You know you messed me up when you crossed in front of me like that," he said still openly eyeing her.

Jasmine had gotten a little nervous. Marcus was her buffer in situations like this. His mere presence was usually enough to deter this kind of open harassment. With both him and their mother out of the house, Jasmine thought she needed to tread carefully.

"I'm sorry Terrell, okay?" She tried to say without an obvious attitude, but she didn't quite cut it.

"Uh uh, without all that damn attitude," he said as he came into the small kitchen and simply encroached upon her. Jasmine cringed a little, backing as far as she could into the kitchen counter. She wished she could just teleport passed him, and into the safe haven of her locked bedroom.

"Just leave me alone, and move out of my way please," Jasmine said gathering her lunch as if to leave. She tried to put some bravado in her voice, and be casual. She didn't want to let him know she was truly unnerved now.

Like a shark in bloody water, Terrell could sense her unease and apprehension. It was as good as he wanted it. It was her fault anyway. Nobody told her to walk around looking like that. Like a younger, much better looking version of her mother, but with a better body. Damn, and she was just fifteen too.

"Nah, I ain't gonna leave you alone until you apologize to me for fucking up my game. You got me all distracted with that big ass of yours," he said grabbing at his crotch for emphasis.

"What?" Jasmine couldn't believe her ears. He was really saying these things to her. Her heart started hammering in her chest. She was in the kitchen, but he was standing in front of the drawer with the knives in it. The butter knife in her hand might as well had been a wet paper towel.

"I'm gonna tell mom you said that Terrell," Jasmine threatened, pulling out her Trump card. It didn't work.

"Shit, tell her ass. She love this dick, she ain't gonna believe you over me," Terrell said as he reached out and suddenly had a tight grip on her.

Jasmine struggled hard. She struggled until she was out of breath, her muscles already singing from the exertion of practice little more than an hour before. Terrell wasn't exceptionally large, but he was very strong. He smacked her hard across the face when she tried to bite him, turning her on her stomach and forcing her to bend over the kitchen counter. Her head was in the sink, her cheek almost touching the drain.

He used one hand to hold her head there, while pressing his body so hard against hers, that the edge of the counter was lodging itself in her abdomen, and her legs were pinned by his own. His other hand had roughly pulled down both her pants and underwear in one go, just enough to expose her privates.

"Yeah, you ready for this dick little young ass bitch?" He growled out like some kind of wild dog.

Jasmine heard him say that, and then there was nothing but pain. Pain from the position of her head and body, and pain from what she was enduring. It was surreal. Without telling it to, her mind found innocent, innocuous things to focus on. Like how many little droplets of water were in the sink, and how they got smaller the closer they were to the drain. She could hear the creak of the pipes, and she could hear the neighbor's televisions clearly. They were watching Family Guy reruns. She had been the first to learn the new choreography today as usual. There was this one move that was a little hard, but once she got it that first time it was cool. Last time she checked her iPod it was at something like 46%. She would have to charge it later. She didn't know how she was gonna get that history paper done by next Tuesday. Is he done? No? The lettuce on her sandwich had to be soggy by now. Jasmine liked crisp lettuce, that's why she convinced her mother to start buying Romaine hearts instead of iceberg lettuce. Her dance clothes needed washing. Did they have any more bleach left? She'd have to check on that later. Is he done? Yes? Okay. Tears are salty.

Suddenly the force that had knocked the wind from her, lifted itself. Jasmine gasped as she fell backwards to the floor, hitting the back of her head on the small kitchen table in the process.

"Get your ass up before your momma get in here. You don't want her to know you been fucking me do you?" Terrell said with a straight face as he pulled his pants back up and went to resume his game.

Everything happened behind a screen for Jasmine. She was watching herself struggle to get off the kitchen floor, every part of her body now aching. She watched as she cleaned up the lunch she had made off the floor, and threw it in the garbage. Jasmine observed herself go into the bathroom and shower until the hot water ran lukewarm, and her mother had to threaten to come in there and drag her out.

Jasmine couldn't concentrate, she couldn't focus on anything, and worst of all she couldn't even cry. Her innocence, her virginity, and her whole being had been violated and ripped from her, and she had no idea how to feel about it.

Over the next few months her grades began to suffer, and her behavior changed dramatically. Gone was the sweet properly speaking lady that Angela had raised. No longer was she poised, or regal, or able to hold her head high and her shoulders back. She didn't come in from school on time anymore even though she didn't play hooky. Jasmine cursed a lot, hung out with the wrong people, and tried to make herself as scarce as possible from the house. She was being raped and groped and molested every time she came there now. Her mother argued with her, tried to reason with her. Her mother did everything except open her eyes to the truth in front of her.

* * *

Four nights ago was the first time she and Kujhade had slept in the same bed. Jasmine had felt warm and protected in his arms. The last few nights she had insisted on sleeping in her own space. The nightmares and memories were flooding back to her, and no amount of weed or music could keep them at bay. Kujhade didn't understand although she tried to explain. Apparently yautja's didn't dream, so he had no concept of nightmares, although he had noticed that she cried while she slept. Yet another thing lost upon him. Reluctantly he had allowed her to do what she felt was best, even though his bedding now seemed too big and too lonely without her in it with him.

Jazzy had woken up in a cold sweat. She could have sworn she felt that monster's hands on her, and she wasn't talking about Kujhade. She reached out for her marijuana, then decided against it this time. Maybe all she needed was a walk or something. Jazzy opened her room door and took a look around. Kujhade was nowhere to be seen. He was always gone doing something. Maybe one day she would tag along just to know where he goes.

Jazzy put her clothes on, and left the apartment. As she went towards the only spot she could remember the way to, she felt like maybe it was really late or either really early. Either way it was quiet. She went to where the women were in hopes of catching Brenda around, but when she didn't find her she sat in the pillowed room. Jazzy didn't want to go back to the place she was starting to think of as home. The realism of the nightmare was still too fresh.

Jazzy lay back on the pillows until she had a novel idea. She got up and went to the goodie crates as she thought of them. When she got down there, she rummaged through the items but didn't come up with anything different or special. She wandered aimlessly until she found herself heading to the storage area down below. Knowing she probably shouldn't be down there, she looked around to make sure she was alone. Satisfied that she was, Jazzy looked around at the sheer amount of stuff. Crates and crates full of all kinds of things. Most were marked in the alien language, and she couldn't read them. It didn't take her long to find the row of lost and found things.

Her eyes nearly fell out of her head at the sight of all the stuff. Most of it she didn't recognize. These predators travelled all over so she figured it must be other alien items, but there were some things that were certainly from Earth. The items looked personal, as if they belonged to a particular person at one point. She knew they took trophies, but maybe this is where they discarded things they had no use for. Jazzy didn't really know, but there were things like old pieces of paper in languages she didn't recognize. She found old jewelry that looked very real, simply discarded. It was like a treasure trove. Gold rings, pearl necklaces, gold coins that were made in Spain before the time of Christopher Columbus. Just how old were these predators? She'd never thought to ask, but these items had a very authentic feel. They looked real and like they belonged in some kind of history museum. She walked around a little more, and that's when she saw it. Weapons. Very old and seemingly still useful weapons. They were all arranged by type. Edged weapons like swords, machetes, and ones she couldn't name were grouped. Then there were the staff and spear type weapons. Then the short range weapons like brass knuckle looking things, and blunt things for bludgeoning. Last but not least were all the long range weapons, and among them were bows of every description. The vast majority of them she knew were of human manufacture. Some of them were historic like the composite bow from the various parts of Asia, and the English long bow. In the midst of it all Jasmine spotted the most beautiful simplistic recurve bow she had ever seen. She couldn't have named the wood, but it was long and beautifully constructed. She picked it up, careful not the break anything or make a bunch of noise. It was a bare bow with no modern additions like sights, pressure buttons, or stabilizers. She tested the draw, shocked that it still had sufficient resistance. She would have assumed at the very least the string would be bad, because who knew how old this thing was, but it was actually still in usable condition. Jazzy almost yelped in excitement as she looked around hoping to find arrows, and finding at least two full quivers.

Jazzy was just about to take her newfound prizes back to Kujhade's place, until a shuffling noise caught her attention. Jazzy went still, knowing that if one of the yautja were down here with her she wouldn't be able to hide. Still, she ducked down behind the crates to listen. She didn't want to be caught down here. She didn't know if she'd be in trouble or not, and she didn't want to really find out, although with that in mind she didn't know how she was going to explain the bow and arrow haul. Jazzy certainly had no intention of leaving them there.

Jazzy was almost sure she hadn't heard anything until she heard it again. This time it was closer, and it was like something was being dragged along the grated floor. She wasn't prepared for what she saw. It was most certainly someone, or something, dragging something else across the floor. It looked like a woman, one of the human women, only she didn't look all that human anymore. Jazzy couldn't really make sense of what she was looking at, especially considering the low lighting. It was most definitely a woman, but the hands were wrong. They were claws and she was really bony too. Her head was too big and she was too tall. Jazzy couldn't get a good look at the face but not for lack of trying.

Whatever this thing was dragging, it must have been heavy. The female thing stopped not too far from where Jazzy was, and sniffed the air. _Please don't sense me_ , Jazzy thought to herself just as the thing tuned her way. It made a really funny noise and began to turn in Jasmine's direction. Jazzy had almost recognized who the woman was, until the thing shrieked in obvious pain. Jazzy saw double blades materialize through its chest, as the thing was raised, writhing, into the air. After the unknown monster went limp, it was thrown down in disgust by the predator that killed it. Jazzy tried to make a break to get out of there, but was too slow. No sooner than she cleared the crate she was hiding behind did she feel the iron grip of a yautja on her shoulder. It spun her to face him, and judging by the tone of the growl it wasn't Kujhade. She recognized the unique armor from a few days ago. It was the very one that tried to have sex with her the day she first came down to see Brenda.

"Kiande amedha!" he screamed in her face, while lifting and shaking her by the arm with one hand.

"Wha-? No!" Jazzy said as she assumed he was associating her with whatever he'd killed. She didn't know what he was calling her though. For some reason it kept translating into 'hard meat' whatever that was.

"Kiande amedha!" He shouted again as he pointed towards the floor.

Jasmine could see what the thing had been dragging, and then it dawned on her why he was so angry. Next to the dead female thing was another predator. That's what it was dragging along. Somehow it had killed one of them and this yautja was pissed off about it. He brought her closer to him as he spoke his next words.

"Kujhade thinks you are too good to share. Let's see what he thinks of you when he finds out what you are, and what you have been doing out of his sight," he sneered, and she could see that he had not forgotten the little incident from before.

Jasmine couldn't even speak she was so frightened of him. There was something very menacing about him beyond what he was, and beyond the temper that seemed inherent to his kind. Her mind tried to go blank, to go unconscious, but Jazzy fought hard against that. Fuck fainting, she needed to be awake and aware for whatever he was going to do to her. She wished she had never left the safety of Kujhade's house. She wished he was there to save her.


	9. Prisoner

"Where did this shit take a left fucking turn?" Jasmine muttered to herself.

"The hell am I even saying? What could go right when the shit started off with a muthafuckin' abduction? Shit was left from day one," she muttered earning a stern look from Elder Bakuub.

How indeed had it gone so wrong? Bakuub felt guilty and foolish for believing that straying so far away from tradition, could bring anything but misfortune. Here he had purposely invited ooman women onboard, something never heard of, at least not in numbers as he had done. Now, he had to face the scrutiny of the onboard council members, many of whom had agreed with the idea at first. At the moment they were trying to understand just how a Hard Meat had slipped past their defenses.

They had made sure to check the women and clear them not only of disease, but of any parasitic life, including a Hard Meat chest-burster. All the women had checked out clean. Yet, there was the body of a mutated woman, obviously with kiande amedha blood. The medics onboard the ship had requested the body for observation, to determine how a female could _become_ a Hard Meat, rather than simply killed as a host body. Bakuub never would have thought the oomans clever enough to remain in the same space as a hard meat, let alone keep it long enough to do something to it, and do something they had. They'd done _something_ , although the details of how were now unimportant. What was important now was that the oomans had tried to kill them. They'd sent some cross breed of hard meat in to kill them, and it had managed to infect at least four more of the women, all of whom were summarily killed.

Bakuub had to step in along with other members of his council, to stop the wholesale slaughter of all the human females. Understandably, everyone on the clan ship was in an uproar over the recent events. There was no chance to keep it under wraps either. Where hard meats were concerned, everyone needed to be aware and on the lookout for the safety of all. Now he was faced with an impossible decision. If he didn't tread carefully, he might have been looking at full scale mutiny and a challenge for his authority.

* * *

Kujhade was training in the kehrite when the news reached him. The story he was hearing didn't make sense at all. Jasmine had conspired with a hard meat somehow? Not possible. Firstly, no one could conspire with any of their kind. They were worthy kills, but mindless animals. They had no sense of loyalty to any other than a queen of their respective hive, and even that was balanced on the edge of a knife. Once he got to the council chambers, he would be able to get to the bottom of it.

When Kujhade stepped through the doors of the large council chambers, something in his chest twisted. Seated in an elevated position along one wall were the seven council members, with Bakuub seated in the very middle. The lights here were bright and harsh, and he could see every painful detail. Two yautja were standing guard at the doors he'd come through. All of the other honored warriors who had taken an ooman for themselves were present to one side, and three arbitrators that Kujhade had never seen before were standing just behind Jasmine, and the rest of the women. The blonde lady that Jasmine had seemed fond of was also there.

Jasmine had been made to stand out front nearest the council bench. Her clothes were disheveled, and she looked miserable and angry. She was standing bound and shackled, the cuffs seeming as though they were digging into her wrists and ankles. One of her eyes was swollen, there were scratches on her neck near the translator, and her lip was busted, and running a steady small stream of her strange red blood. Near her temple was a matted swatch of her hair, no doubt she had been clouted on the head there. It had been left to bleed and was beginning to cake and dry. Standing proudly to her right was U'darahje, the same one who'd tried to mate with her. The same one that Kujhade had bested, and the one he would now have to actually beat since he'd touched Jasmine again.

Kujhade growled, making his way over to U'darahje to exact his revenge. Bakuub immediately stood up, waving Kujhade away. Mar'cte had to grab him to physically stop him, and nearly got into a fight with Kujhade himself.

"What's the meaning of this Bakuub?! Why is my female bound and beaten?!" Kujhade demanded, treading on shaky ground with how he was speaking to an Elder.

The arbitrators stood alerted, ready to subdue and kill Kujhade should he step out of line.

"Kujhade! Control yourself. Allow U'darahje to explain it since it was he who captured her," Bakuub ordered.

Very reluctantly Kujhade settled to hear what lies U'darahje would come up with. Said yautja stepped up, glancing over to Kujhade to give him a very self-satisfied look before he spoke.

"Elder, I was patrolling the lower quadrant of the ship as directed, when I heard a strange noise. I went to investigate it. It was there that I found what I believed to be a kinade amedha. I saw that it was dragging along one of our own, when I killed it without question. I then saw this…ooman hiding among the storage containers. She was armed with these," U'darahje said, throwing down the recurve bow and quivers of arrows that Jasmine had gotten.

"She was stealing them, no doubt planning to kill…" he was waved quiet by the Elder.

"That's enough U'darahje. Your speculation of what she was doing is unnecessary," Bakuub said, satisfied to have shut him up.

"It is not clear what this ooman's intention or involvement was. Kujhade, can you shed some light on this lou-dte kale?" Another of the Elders asked.

The other elders and even some of the warriors present, grumbled their disapproval.

"Bakuub, is it really necessary to listen to one such as him? Look at him. Can he even be trusted at all?" Yet another elder objecting, giving Kujhade an open look of disgust.

Bakuub did not respond, choosing only to give a hard look before Kujhade spoke.

"She belongs to me, and she is no hard meat. I would have known if she was," Kujhade growled out, having to restrain the rage bubbling beneath the surface. Among other things, the disrespectful way Jasmine had been addressed was pissing him off.

"I can sense your anger Kujhade, but what you don't understand is that the oomans placed that creature among us, in some misguided effort to kill us. The reasons are unclear, but the fact remains that a hard meat was among them, and went undetected. Your female was somewhere she did not belong. So here we are, and you need to calm yourself," Bakuub said sternly, not liking the way Kujhade didn't seem to be settling at all, despite going quiet.

Growing tired of the talking already, Kujhade addressed Jasmine directly.

"Jasmine, my mate, why were you there?" Kujhade asked, his deep voice coming across to her calmly. He was almost pleading.

Jasmine looked his way, giving him a good look at the injury to her eye.

"I had a nightmare. I got up, you were gone, and so I took a walk. I didn't know I couldn't take a goddamn walk!" She yelled, her voice going up an octave.

"She was gathering weapons Bakuub," U'darahje interjected.

"You will let her speak without interruption, or I swear it will be the last time you…" Kujhade began only to be silenced by Bakuub.

"Enough! Let her defend herself, and that is for the both of you!" He yelled, his authority undisputed.

"I went down to see if I could talk to Brenda, you know, just kind of hang out. She wasn't around, and I wasn't ready to go back so I wandered around," Jazzy said, speaking directly and only to Kujhade. No matter what, he had to know she was innocent. He had to know.

"I went down there and I found all this stuff. I used to take up archery, so when I saw the bow I picked it up. I wanted it. I just wanted to have it. I wanted to show you what I found Kujhade," she said, her eyes watering and her voice starting to waver.

"I didn't do anything. I didn't know what that thing was, I _didn't_. Please don't let them kill me Kujhade," she choked out, trying hard not to completely break down. She knew it would do no good here.

Something in Kujhade's chest twisted again. He disliked seeing her cry, and for the first time the scent of fear hung heavy around her. He believed her of course. He was familiar with what she termed as having a nightmare. She had them often, as he would hear her crying and talking to someone, most likely in her sleep. He didn't understand that, but they must have been distressing to her if he had to judge by how many times he'd seen the tell-tale signs of her crying when she woke the next morning.

"I say kill them all. That way we will not have to deal with the potential threat," one of the elders mentioned casually, as if that were the end of the matter.

"That would make us Bad Bloods, all of us Setg'in. Don't be foolish," Bakuub stated, casting a golden-eyed glare at Setg'in who gave the look right back.

"So what do you suggest then Bakuub? Let them run free to do as they wish?" Setg'in said, challenging Bakuub.

"Of course not! However, as far as we know the ones standing before us are unarmed females, and killing them is dishonorable in the highest degree," Bakuub said, his thorny brow furrowing in thought as he looked upon Jasmine.

"Why not send them to the game planet, since they want to arm themselves? They should have from now until we're in orbit of it to train, then let Cetanu decide," U'darahje offered, casting Jasmine a sidelong glance that Kujhade added to his list of offenses to redress.

Kujhade couldn't believe that the Elder council, seemed to actually be considering it.

"Are all of you mad? You might as well kill them, at least it would be quick. Sending them there is a death sentence! Bakuub, you have to see this?" Kujhade voiced, stepping closer to the Elder's seats.

As if coming out of a trance Bakuub's eyes snapped up to meet Kujhade's green blazing ones. He considered what was said so long, that Kujhade believed that he really would send these women to the game planet to be hunted and killed by whatever they ran into first.

"No," Bakuub said as if divesting himself of a great weight.

"I will not sentence them to death. However, they cannot be free until we are completely sure that the threat is gone. Therefore, they must all be confined for at least seven cycles to ensure they remain ooman," Bakuub said, but Kujhade was only somewhat mollified.

"And when they are found to be innocent? What then?" Kujhade pressed. Mar'cte gripped his arm, trying to caution him to remain calm and not press his luck.

"We will decide at that time Kujhade. Unless you are unhappy and would like to replace me as the clan's Elder?" Bakuub said standing to his full height of 8'7", the threat and challenge made very clear.

Kujhade stood down. This wasn't about challenges to Bakuub's authority, this was about keeping Jasmine alive. It was about keeping her with him. The council murmured and clicked their agreement, and with that the women were marched out.

* * *

In single file the women were led out of the Elder's chambers. It was a walk of shame like no other. Jasmine had not intended for this to be the way she got to see other parts of the ship. They were flanked by yautja guards, but Kujhade made it his business to walk beside Jasmine. He kept casting glances her way, but Jasmine had kept her eyes on her shuffling feet and clasped hands. Every once and again she would look up, just to see where she was being taken.

They walked down dim halls that were backlit with a sickly yellowish-orange light. The walls were ornately carved with images of yautja in various stages of the hunt, their weapons and trophies premiered. Their shuffling feet made a creaky, scuffing sound on the grated metal floor. The ankle and wrist cuffs lacked chains. Magnetism took their place, making her steps short, and pulling her arms almost painfully down towards her feet. Jasmine looked around as they went through hall after hall, all of them exactly the same. She didn't know where they were headed, except that they were steadily going down further and further into the bowels of the ship.

They turned one mindless corner after the other, until Jasmine thought they might have been going in circles. However, the distant murmur of noise broke the monotony. The ceiling of the corridor eventually opened up and became grated like the floor, allowing Jasmine to see rows and rows of yautja, eating and talking with one another raucously. It must have been a very large mess hall they were walking under. Jasmine's stomach growled as the smell of food wafted down and followed her.

Soon they had passed the mess hall, and the ceiling became solid once more. Before long, Jasmine thought they had gone down just about as far as they could go. Throughout, the corridors remained wide enough for the women to walk single file, and for their guards to comfortably flank them. As she suspected, they had been led to a dungeon of sorts, but not the kind you think of in the movies. It wasn't any darker than the rest of the ship, and it was just as clean and well kept. The floors were solid instead of grated, perhaps to stop the prisoners from planning an escape route. The walls of the corridor were still backlit with that yellowish-orange color, but without the carvings or ornamentation.

The hallway opened up onto a circular room, with high vaulted ceilings. It was like walking into a small concert hall. The walls here were a stainless steel grey, rather than backlit, and although there was sufficient lighting Jasmine couldn't see any source for it. Suddenly portions of the wall slid upwards, revealing the prison cells that they were to call home over the next seven days. One of the guards reached for Jazzy's arm in order to lead her to a cell, until Kujhade growled menacingly at him.

"Do not touch her," he said, then pointing to her head and eye injury. "She needs a medic. Bring one immediately to tend her."

"But Bakuub didn't say…" the guard began, not wanting to shy away from Kujhade's forcefulness, but he didn't want to anger him either.

He didn't quite wilt underneath Kujhade's gaze, but he did agree to call the medic as soon as possible. Jasmine allowed herself to be led by Kujhade without protest. The other women were being handled similarly, and Kujhade could see Mar'cte speaking to both his mates as well. They were crying and pleading, while Jasmine was stoic and unemotional. It gave Kujhade a weird sense of pride that his mate was not crumbling and showing weakness. He was proud of her about the way she was conducting herself under these circumstances.

Jasmine turned to face Kujhade, her one good eye gleaming. A sharp contrast to the swollen bloodshot one that she could barely see out of. It was the third time he felt something twist in his chest. He didn't like that feeling. It was foreign and it felt like….he didn't want to think about it. He removed the cuffs from her, catching them before they could clatter to the floor. He looked at her beginning the softest of purrs, and after a second of hesitation stroked her cheek lightly. Jasmine winced at the contact, as his thumb brushed against her swollen lip, then up to her tender eye.

"He did this to you?" Kujhade asked, his deep voice rumbling with a deceptive calm in his chest, as he continued to stroke her face.

"Yes," Jasmine replied softly, nodding her head a bit as well. She knew exactly who Kujhade was talking about.

"Did he...?" Kujhade started to ask, mandibles working as if to manually keep the building rage in check. He was unprepared for the response.

Jasmine snapped her head up, her hazel eye blazing in unbridled, sudden fury. Instinctively, Kujhade moved his hand away from her face. His only experience with angry females had taught him not to leave his extremities vulnerable.

"That all you care about?! Huh Kujhade?" She asked, her face twisting in outrage and hurt.

"You just wanna know did he 'mate' me as you call it? Nah, he didn't! He didn't get the ass, happy now? Are you good now, can you get a good night's fucking sleep, now that you know we didn't fuck?!" Jasmine said, her feet moving in his direction of their own accord, as the steel grey cell doors slid shut. Not with the deafening thud of finality, but with the smooth sound of expensive elevator doors in a high rise.

Yes, Kujhade was worried about whether or not U'darahje had forcibly mated her. If he had, it was Kujhade's job as her mate to redress it. It would have made U'darahje guilty of dishonor, and subject to a fight to the death if Kujhade chose to challenge him over it. However, Jasmine had vehemently denied that it had happened. What she told him, was that U'darahje had beaten her and that was enough for Kujhade. It concerned him that she had become belligerent with him. He had angered her, and he had at least a small idea why. Perhaps she thought that his only concern was whether or not someone else had mated her. That was no longer true. It was no longer his only concern. He wanted her around, he wanted her close. Jasmine had awakened something within him that he did not have the words to explain, something he had not believed was even there at all.

Kujhade had decided that he would serve as Jasmine's personal guard. Hunting and the like would simply have to be put on hold. First, he had a certain individual that he needed to see. He lay and open palm against the door of her prison before turning away. He could hear her clearly through the door, kicking it and screaming a string of curses.

"So fuck you Kujhade!" Jazzy screamed, with tears running down her face. It made her eye hurt as well as her head, and she knew she should stop kicking the door and exerting herself, but she couldn't. The rage was too strong. The old familiar self-loathing was quickly reacquainting itself with her, seemingly as soon as the doors slid shut. Feelings of loneliness, abandonment, and guilt threatened to overwhelm her all at once, and eventually Jasmine did stop beating the door.

"Don't leave me in he-ere," Jazzy sobbed, her voice starting to hitch. Her head and eye thrummed in time with her heartbeat, and she dropped to her knees.

"Don't le-eave m-me in he-ere," she sobbed miserably, her shoulders hitching and her face buried in her hands.

She didn't even know who she was pleading to. Maybe it was Kujhade. She didn't want to be without him, but it was more than that. Jasmine didn't want to be guilty over anything anymore, but it had welled up fiercely in her mind and heart. Had she caused him problems since he was responsible for her? Correction, he owned her. That's what he told her. She was property, like always. Now she was a prisoner, like always. Just on second nature she reached for her best friend, her iPod. Nowhere to be found. It was still laying innocently on top of the bedding that she neatly arranged every day after she woke up. Her weed was still stuffed in the old scuffed waist pack she used to wear strapped to her thigh. No crutches this time.

After the storm of emotion began to abate, Jasmine looked around. The cell was a spacious 10'x4', with a steel surface protruding from the rear wall. She guessed it was supposed to be a bed. There were no sheets, or pelts, or furs lining it and it seemed cold and very uninviting. She knew she would spend all seven nights in a sleepless hell. Everything seemed cold, despite the balmy maybe 75-80 degree temperature that the entire ship was maintained at. Stationed at the foot of the steel cot, was a bare toilet that was bigger than the ones back home, but not by a whole lot. Certainly not yautja sized like it was in Kujhade's quarters. Just to the left hand corner of the door was a small depression in the floor with a drain. On the wall above it was a smaller version of the top of the shower column in Kujhade's bathing room. Somehow, that was the worst feature. The shower was in the cell with her, so that she would not be let out for any reason. Sniffling and wiping her runny nose with the bottom of her tattered wife beater, Jasmine crawled to the cold cot. Without ever actually standing, Jasmine climbed into the cot and turned to face the smooth wall. She drew her knees up almost to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, rocking herself slowly until she fell asleep.


	10. Haunted

It was the familiar scent that roused her from an uncomfortable slumber. A White Diamond dupe with way too much alcohol. That scent used to mean getting picked up from school on a cold winter's day, or getting a hug after doing well at a dance recital. Now it just heralded the coming of some woman that Jasmine didn't know anymore, and didn't want to know.

"What are you doing here?" Jasmine asked wearily, not even turning around.

There was no reply. The scent became stronger somehow, more real. Jasmine slowly stretched her legs out, and rolled over to face the door. There Angela stood in all her heroine addicted glory. Her arms were at her sides, fists balling and unballing, her mouth set. She looked as if she wanted to fight, and Jasmine supposed that should have been the way of it. Angela always wanted to fight.

Jasmine took a good look at the specter of her mother standing in her alien prison with her, as if it were the most natural thing in all the world. Her black hair that was only a little greyed at the temples, was pulled back into a single large French braid down the middle. The tip was tucked in and pinned. She never wore makeup, and once upon a time that accentuated her natural beauty. Now it made her look skeletal and severe. She wore her old favorite charcoal gray cardigan, and a pair of old stonewashed jeans. Her clothes used to always be immaculate, now they were littered with stains of every sort, and inexplicably Jasmine could see the tell-tale tracks that marred her mother's arms. Her feet were bare and impossibly caked with dirt. Like she'd walked through a mud pit and never bothered to wash it off. As Jasmine took in the sight, she wondered vaguely if she had died and gone to some form of personal hell.

"I said what are you doing here Angela?" Jasmine said in a very low tone. It couldn't be real, but that didn't stop the feeling of dread and apprehension that closed in around her.

"I should kill you. Slut," Angela said, spitting her words out with such vitriol that Jazzy could practically see the venom dripping from them.

"Yeah well, missed your chance. Or you can join the club. These predators look like they about two minutes off my ass anyway," Jasmine said casually.

"Why are you here Angela? I thought I left you back home?" Jasmine asked the apparition before her.

"I told you I'm always here. You're never getting rid of me. You can't hide from who you are. What you are," Angela said, her tone accusatory and cryptic.

"And I just bet you came all the way across the damn galaxy to tell me about who the hell I am, right? Well go ahead, say I'm a whore, a slut, a bitch, a drug addict! I've heard it all!" Jazzy yelled, her head starting a dull throb.

"Yesss," her mother hissed out like a snake. Something about the certainty of that affirmation, made Jazzy cringe back.

"I'm not though," Jazzy managed weakly.

She'd swung her legs down and sat up on the edge of the metal cot. Now she had scooted back a little towards the wall, away from her mother. Angela raised an incredulous brow. Silently challenging the assertion that those things weren't true.

"You're where you are now because you sell pussy in the streets, excuse my French but it's true," Angela stated as if she were explaining the concept of 1+1 to a child.

"I'm here because I actually tried to go to a rehab and get clean. Something you should be doing," Jazzy said, looking around everywhere in the room except in her mother's eyes.

The apparition had the audacity to look wounded by that. Jasmine looked at her straight on finally, and could see a small flicker in Angela's form. For a split second, she wasn't as solid as she was before, and Jasmine saw the wall behind her.

* * *

The small groups of yautja, warrior, unblooded, young bloods, and even the few females on the clan ship parted as Kujhade made his way with purpose. It was written all over his body, his face, the set of his mandibles, and the length of his strides. Kujhade was ready to hunt, but he wouldn't have to leave the ship to do it. Up through the long backlit hall, up the two flights of stairs that took all of three steps for him to clear, Kujhade walked with single-minded determination. Kujhade was never one for a lot of talking and explanation. He was outcast in many ways from the small social interactions that his kind engaged in, and that encouraged him to withdraw and be silent in most situations. He liked to let his actions speak for him.

With white and green dreads flowing behind him, Kujhade had made his way back to the council chambers only to find it empty. One other place to go then. Kujhade headed towards the kehrite he had been training in earlier. It was on a higher level of the ship than the living quarters. Kujhade had to take the elevator to reach it. It opened upon an entire floor dedicated to training for both hand to hand combat, and weapons. Kujhade stormed past various yautja practicing different forms of endurance testing. One young male was repeatedly shoving his hands into a bowl full of live coal-like material, toughening them. Another was sitting still at the bottom of a clear tank of water, holding his breath while his instructor timed it. Just past them, were the kehrite rings. Pits depressed into the floor reminiscent of their bedding. However, these pits were much bigger and not lined with anything so comfortable as pelts and furs. Some of the pits weren't lined with anything, but some others were lined with things simulating different terrain. Some terrain was like a jungle floor, littered with sticks and rocks. Others were smooth like ice or glass, and still others were wet and seemed very slippery.

Kujhade found his mark in one of the rings having just finished a sparring session. Without preamble, Kujhade stepped down into the pit and immediately shoved U'darajhe to the floor, aggressively issuing a challenge. U'darajhe scrambled his bulk off the floor, embarrassed and angry at being shoved around for the second time by Kujhade. He wouldn't be bested again. U'darajhe roared loudly, splaying his claws and arching his back in a full display of aggression. Kujhade responded in kind, as the two hunters circled each other. A crowd of young males formed around the edge of the pit, as they watched the two more experienced fighters do battle.

"Here to fight for an ooman that's worth even less than you are?" U'darajhe mocked.

Kujhade was on him in a flash, having already punched him twice in the face. He cut his hand on U'darajhe's teeth, but did manage to crack a lower mandible in the process. U'darajhe wasn't interested in getting beaten. He charged Kujhade, tackling him to the floor and landing four or five solid blows to Kujhade's face. Kujhade closed his mouth tightly, and turned his head to minimize the damage. He used one hand to shield his face, and the heel of the other he used to strike just underneath U'darajhe's chin, one of the few soft spots on a yautja. With a strangled yelp U'darajhe stopped his attack, giving Kujhade enough time deliver a second strike sending the other hunter reeling backwards on his knees. Quickly, Kujhade got to his feet in time to deliver two or three kicks to U'darajhe's ribs, taking a few chunks of flesh with every back swing.

"What part of don't touch her didn't you understand!" Kujhade yelled as U'darajhe grabbed his foot, twisted his ankle, and sent him to the floor.

With his other foot, Kujhade kicked the other hunter hard in the face, making him release his ankle. When he did, Kujhade wasted no time mounting him and using his claws to great effect. Dazed by the kicks to the face, U'darajhe was unable to defend himself as Kujhade started taking chunks of flesh out of his thick hide. Kujhade wasn't thinking clearly anymore. He had allowed his anger to boil over, and it wasn't until four of the young bloods pulled him off of the beaten and humiliated yautja, did Kujhade come back to his senses.

U'darajhe lay coughing and gagging, spitting up copious amounts of florescent green blood, as he turned over on his side in an effort not to actually choke on it. Kujhade breathed a silent sigh of relief that he hadn't killed him. He wasn't worth being branded a bad blood over, and in any case with his purpose fulfilled, he needed to get back to Jasmine. He was going to guard her, as he didn't trust anyone else to do it. As much as he liked Bakuub and knew he was fair, the way the others had thought to kill off all the women had him on high alert.

Immediately he wrested himself from the grip of the young males, and took a good look at his handiwork. The other male was in bad shape, but he would be alright. In the back of his mind Kujhade knew that this was probably not over. Something would happen again, and when it did Kujhade didn't know if sparing U'darajhe's life would be possible. He didn't even know if he would want to spare his life. Kujhade climbed out of the ring pit and headed towards the elevator.

A few minutes later found him in front of Jasmine's cell door, palms flat against it, head cocked, listening. She was speaking to someone. Her voice seemed strained, almost panicked. He couldn't smell her, not through the doors but he could tell from her tone that something was frightening her.

* * *

"He raped me, mom. Terrell raped me, and you didn't stop him," Jasmine whimpered.

Her mother's face twisted in horrible anger and rage, distorting her features into a nightmarish caricature. She looked like she wanted to rush Jasmine, hurt her, beat her, but she didn't move from her spot. It was as if she couldn't no matter how she may have wanted to, and no matter how corporeal she seemed.

"Nnnoooo! You had sex with him, you took him from meee! You Liieeed!" Angela screamed, the sounds driving deep into Jasmine's psyche.

Jasmine closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, clasping each hand over her ears trying to block the sound, but she wasn't hearing it with her ears and it could not be stopped. She slipped off the cot and sank to her knees, rocking back and forth, and shaking her head slowly from side to side in denial. It wasn't true, she hadn't wanted it. Terrell raped her as often as he could, and the first few times she tried to fight him off, she really did. He was too strong. The force of his body and his will was too much for a young Jasmine to fend off. She remembered resigning to her fate after a while, mumbling no to him, but no longer having the will or strength to keep fighting what seemed destined for her to endure. The worst thing, the most horrible part, was that on one or two of those occasions her body responded and betrayed her. She'd orgasmed once or twice. Nothing passionate accompanied the feeling. It was just a body reacting to certain stimuli the way a body reacted to certain stimuli, but it was enough to eat her alive from that day forward. Jasmine always questioned after that if she was a depraved whore. It was during a nasty argument between Terrell and her mother, that he bragged about how he'd fucked Jasmine and made her cum.

It was after that, that her mother went from passive willing blindness, to active hatred towards Jasmine. She no longer viewed her as her daughter, but as 'the other woman' vying for the affections of her man. Angela knew that Jasmine was being assaulted, but she turned a blind eye to her daughter's pain. Jasmine knew it was the drugs doing the thinking. Terrell was a small time drug dealer, and Angela quickly became his best customer. He introduced heroine and other drugs to a household, and a woman who was drug free before his unfortunate arrival in their lives.

Jasmine was still on the floor, almost in prostration when the cell door slid up silently and two males walked in. For a second, for the briefest of seconds Jasmine's mind conjured Terrell and she immediately began to reel backwards, her hands scrabbling for the purchase of the cot behind her. She couldn't even scream. It only came out as choked gasps, as she seemed to be moving in slow motion. It was like a nightmare, where you know you should run or fight, but can do neither.

* * *

Kujhade was alarmed at what he saw when the door slid up. The medic had finally come and not a moment too soon. Jasmine was kneeled on the floor with her head down, and when she lifted it the fear in her eyes made something in his chest clench for the fourth time. So great was her fear, that he could see the whites of her eyes. That was a thing he had only seen in prey when they knew they would die at his hands. He looked around the small room and saw nothing, as he expected. He didn't understand what had her so afraid, but he began to purr to her in an effort to calm her. The medic must have sensed something wrong also, because Kujhade noticed that the short yautja was also purring and giving him a questioning look.

Jasmine swiped at them weakly, turning towards the steel cot as she did so until one of them grabbed her arms and pinned them to her sides. It wasn't until she heard the purrs that she paused in her meek efforts to struggle. She looked up at the male nearest her head in confusion. Then it came into focus. The cream colored skin, the green patterns on the crest and hair, the leafy green eyes.

"Kujhade?" Jasmine whispered. He nodded his head and kept his purr going. He lifted her gently to the cot, as he took a seat on it and cradled her head in his lap.

The medic put her feet up so that she was laying down, and began to inspect her wounds. The injury to her head wasn't as severe as it seemed. It was no more than a laceration that seemed to be healing already. He took his small box of medical supplies, and searched until he found a bottle of clear, viscous fluid which he dabbed on her head. Jasmine winced a little, but kept her eyes on Kujhade, looking up at him with a look that he had never seen before.

It was a mix of relief, and wonder, and….something else. He didn't want to think about what else it could mean. It couldn't have been what he thought. Perhaps she had simply relaxed, and she had. Her body wasn't so tense, and she appeared to be content to focus solely on him.

The medic tended her eye and lip, cleaning it off and smoothed a salve over her swollen eye that stung but brought down the swelling immediately. Still, an angry plum colored bruise framed it, and the sight of it made Kujhade very glad he had beaten Mr. I Like to Beat Defenseless Females. Soon the medic was done, leaving behind some pain killers for later. When Kujhade did not rise to follow him out, he gave another questioning look until a growl sent him on his way.

"You're gonna get in trouble being in here with me. I'm a criminal remember?" Jasmine said seriously. Kujhade just shook his large head.

"I will keep you safe," he said to her.

Jasmine's eyes went wide, then a single tear slid from it and ran down the side of her face and into her ear. She clambered awkwardly into his lap and wrapped her arms around him, curling her legs up to fit neatly on his thighs as she did so. To hear those words. To hear that someone, somewhere wanted her safe, wanted her to be okay, wanted to shield her from some unknown horror. In that moment, Jasmine felt something she hadn't felt since she was a little girl. She felt protected. Her heart had been shattered years ago, bent over the kitchen sink where she still remembered counting the droplets of water. There were at least one hundred and fifty-two. It had been teetering on the edge of completely crumbling since that day, and now it had been obliterated into dust. Her eyes shut tight, and her face twisted in the anguish that would erupt from her in the form of tears and hitching breaths. She hugged Kujhade for all she was worth, clinging to him like a buoy in a stormy sea.

"Th-tha-ank y-y-youuu," she cried miserably, her heart breaking into more pieces than she could ever count.

Slowly, so slowly, she felt two strong arms enclose around her. At first they were gentle, light, and hesitant. Then they became sure, and fierce and tight around her, creating a fortress that no harm could penetrate. No monster could touch her as long as she remained in his arms. With each passing sob, and falling tear, Jasmine thought that maybe the foundations of her heart could heal, and she could be made whole again.


	11. Laid Bare

Adolescent Dr'han are fierce nocturnal hunters that will keep you up all night, and part of the day. Kujhade had hunted his fair share of them, and so he'd learned how to sleep standing up, and sleep lightly. So when he heard the muted shrieks coming from one of the cells, he was at full alert in a matter of seconds.

He had been standing guard outside Jasmine's cell for many hours. Earlier he had brought them both something to eat, and he had left out when he was sure she was asleep. He had to threaten the real guard to bring at least a few pelts for her to sleep on. Now that very guard had come through the entrance, and was hurrying in the direction of the shrieks. The sound was very familiar. It was the high pitched screech of a kiande amedha , but this time it had taken on a weird human quality.

Exchanging only a glance, Kujhade and the guard readied their weapons. Kujhade didn't have any armor on, and cursed his own stupidity. All he had was his wrist gauntlet and blades. As they were heading towards the sound two other yautja guards joined them. Kujhade stood back as the guards cautiously opened the door. What they all saw inside disgusted them to say the least. In the corner of the cell near the ceiling, was a blackish-grey cocoon of sorts. It had been recently breached, and the creature that emerged from it was writhing on the floor and tying to get its footing. Slime coated both the creature and the wall, and the distinctive smell of a kiande amedha nest hung heavily in the air. The thing was pale and looked in every way like a hard meat except that it was distinctly female, and it lacked the elongated head. It had eyes which had recessed into its head, and when it shrieked again, the infamous double mouth was present and accounted for. The yautja guard wasted not a single moment, running his spear through its heart before it could gather itself completely. Just as that crisis was narrowly averted, another shriek and a thump could be heard. Opening up the door to the cell revealed a similar sight, and as before the guard killed the creature before it could get itself together for an attack.

After the two hard meats were taken care of, the guards began systematically going from cell to cell, waking the women and dragging them out to make sure they weren't incubating or transforming, or whatever the hell they were doing in there. Most of them were groggy and sleepy, but the blonde woman was awake and aware. Her cell was right next to the one they had just killed a hard meat in, and she looked frightened. She came out willingly, and when she spotted Kujhade, she gave him a pleading look as if she were asking a silent question. Kujhade shook his head. Jasmine hadn't been hurt. The blonde looked relieved, but then nodded her head in the direction of Jasmine's cell. When Kujhade turned he saw guards heading over there. He ran back growling and roaring a warning.

"Stay out of the way Kujhade. She has to be inspected!" One of the guards demanded, as he attempted to bar Kujhade's way.

"Then I will be the one to inspect! Move!" Kujhade roared and walked into the guard who backed away from the door.

Kujhade paused, hoping to Paya that Jasmine was okay. He entered the code on the panel recessed into the wall, and the door slid open. Jasmine was standing near the door, her body tense as if she intended to make a run for it. When she saw it was Kujhade, her shoulders relaxed and she sighed in relief. Kujhade rushed over to her, this time not shy about grabbing her and holding her to him. He felt along her back and ribs, then pulled her back to look into her face.

"What's going on out there Kujhade? Did they come to kill me?" Jasmine asked. He could see she was trying to half laugh it off, but she was serious about it.

"No, my mate. I will not let them harm you," he reassured her. Having her close to him was slightly driving him insane now. He was officially within his mating season now, and her smell was intoxicating.

"We will decide whether she is fit to live Kujhade. You've done enough," one of the guards said as he came marching in with his combi-stick at the ready.

Kujhade gave him a hard stare, but stood back a bit anyway just to let him have a look. The guard took his time looking Jasmine up and down. One upper mandible lifted and twitched, as he looked from Kujhade to her, then back to Kujhade, then back to her.

"Who the fuck is he looking at like that?" Jasmine asked, looking at the guard but directing the question at Kujhade.

"I don't know, but if he wants to keep his eyes in his head, he will look elsewhere," Kujhade warned stepping between the guard and Jazzy.

"Everything is fine here. The female remains human," the guard said turning towards his colleagues, and leaving the confines of the cell.

Jazzy grabbed Kujhade's arm as he started to file out behind the rest of them. He turned to look her dead in the eyes. They were a pretty color that he hadn't noticed before. She looked worn from stress, but tried a smile anyway for him.

"Did some of the girls...change?" Jazzy asked apprehensively. Kujhade nodded his head.

"Don't go Lite Brite. Stay here," she pleaded softly, tugging on his hand and trying to walk him back further into the cell.

"I will only be just outside the door Jasmine," he tried but he knew what she wanted.

"Nooo," she said stamping her foot and pouting. "In here like in the cell with me. I can't sleep without you," she admitted.

Kujhade closed his eyes. He was in season, and did not trust himself to be restrained from mating with her if he stayed in her presence for too long. It was better outside, where he couldn't smell her feminine scent through the walls. He snapped his eyes open and his mandibles closed when she started rubbing his chest. Every soft stroke of her hand sending currents down his flanks and down his back. Jazzy stepped into him and rested her head on his chest, making circles on it with one finger, and rubbing up and down on his arm with the other hand.

"Please, Kujhade," she cooed to him and suddenly he couldn't stand it anymore.

He pulled her in very tightly to himself, barely resisting the urge to grind himself against her. His hands traveled up and down her back lightly raking it, while he used his lower tusks to drag through her hair. A low rumbling purr started in his chest, and his breathing got heavier. It all suddenly clicked for Jazzy. Lite Brite was horny, and not just in passing. His whole attitude was a little different. She could tell he was more aggressive, and a bit more protective than usual. Since he was an alien, it occurred to her that he could quite possibly have a mating season of some type. That kind of threw her off because she associated mating seasons with animals, and she did not associate animals with sexy time for herself. It was clear that Kujhade was no animal, and she didn't view him as less than a person. It caused a conflict of interest, so instead of over thinking it, Jazzy went with the flow. In any case if she hadn't been before, she was very much open to the idea of sex with Kujhade now. Speaking of that, his hands had become more insistent, as they began to travel lower and graze over her backside. When she looked up into his eyes, they were half-lidded and full of lust. His purr was soothing, almost like background noise and it triggered something. Suddenly the flame of her desire was lit, as she felt him vibrate under her hands.

She reached up and grabbed his head in both her hands, and pulled him down. He leaned down willingly, barely having the strength to resist whatever she did. She looked into his eyes once more, green pools of intelligence and a depth of emotion that he had not yet allowed her to know. Jazzy found herself wanting to know about who he was, what his life was really like. All she knew were vague things about hunting and killing, but it was obvious that there was so much more to know. Raised on the tips of her toes, she laid a tender kiss in the thorny valley between his eyes. They pricked her lips, but bent to her will just the same. She laid another soft kiss, then another and another, until she was covering his crest, brow, and the outside of his lower tusks. Kujhade couldn't believe how good it felt. It was the wrong place and time, but she felt right pressed against him as she was. Her lips felt right against his face and head, and he was simply intoxicated by her scent. He wanted to bite her so badly. To sink his tusks into her shoulder and mark her as his where there could be no doubt. He also wanted to sink other parts of his body into her, and it was that thought that dragged him from the very edge of his waning control.

"Jasmine I must go," Kujhade rasped, his voice thick with the lump of sexual frustration he was swallowing.

Gently he pried her away from him, scooped her into his arms bridal style which caused her to yelp in surprise, and set her on the cot.

"You promise you'll be just outside the door?" Jazzy asked as he stood tall.

"Promise?" He asked tilting his head in a way that made her think of him in more innocent terms.

"Yeah, you don't know what a promise is? Like making an oath," she explained and he instantly understood.

"I promise Jasmine," Kujhade said solemnly. She couldn't have known how seriously the yautja took oaths.

"Okay then. I guess I'll let you go," she said and gave him the warmest smile she could muster.

He nodded with his lower mandibles raised, and that was the first time that Jazzy had seen something that looked like a smile on his face. He walked out of the cell proudly, but when the door opened and then shut behind him, Kujhade let out a loud sigh and sagged against the wall. He felt as if he'd run miles through a dense jungle. He chaffed against his codpiece, and leaned over grasping both knees in his hands, sucking in huge breaths. He had to calm himself right this instant, or burst back into that cell and impregnate her. The yautja standing guard turned and observed Kujhade for a moment, before giving him a knowing look, chuckling and turning back around.

A few minutes later he could hear Jasmine calling his name through the door.

"Lite Brite? Still there like you promised?" She asked. The specter of her mother had materialized again, and Jazzy didn't have any desire to engage it.

"Yes," he answered, not prepared for the fact that even her voice was stirring his loins a little.

"Talk to me. You can tell me whatever you want, I just need someone to talk to me," she said, and he could hear the sadness in her voice. Like whatever happens to her when he wasn't around, when he couldn't see, was happening this instant.

"What do you want to know?" He asked curiously. He'd never had a request such as that made of him before.

"Everything," she said simply. He pondered it before he spoke. It was vague at first, and he didn't really know what to talk about. As time passed though, he found himself telling her things about himself that he had never given voice to before.

* * *

Setg'in took a good hard look at the battered hunter before him, and clicked his tusks disapprovingly.

"I take it Kujhade didn't appreciate the way you handled his little ooman female?" He asked with a bit of a chuckle and a shake of his head.

"I don't see what's so damn funny about it. He could have killed me," U'darajhe complained, not liking the way this talk was even starting.

"If those few scratches could have killed you, then you would have deserved to die. Now, remind me why you are in my private quarters after I told you not to meet me here?" Setg'in asked, his annoyance obvious.

"Whatever your plan is, it needs to be done…now," U'darajhe said, still standing in the doorway to Setg'in's spacious quarters. He couldn't believe how much better the elders got to live after they weren't looked upon to hunt anymore.

Without answering, Setg'in strolled back to his place as his table, where he was enjoying a light meal of fruits and small strips of meat. He sat down in his place at the head of his large table, and began to eat. The table was set off to one side, while the rest of the space was dominated by plush, colorful pelts lining the floor. To the left was a wall full of Setg'in's most prized trophies, a testament to his arrogance. Most warriors kept their trophies in an area specifically for them, but Setg'in had his out right in the open. He didn't even so much as offer U'darajhe a seat, content to let him stand there like a stupid young blood.

"The first thing you need to keep in mind is that I do not take orders from you," Setg'in began, not even looking up at the yautja he was speaking to as he peeled some thickly hulled fruit.

"The second thing for you to understand is that whatever my plan is, it will be done in my own time, and you should thank Paya that I included you in it," Setg'in continued finally raising his eyes to regard U'darajhe. The beaten warrior didn't like the look he saw there. It spoke of betrayal, and U'darajhe made sure to make a note of that.

"If you do exactly as I instruct, you will enjoy the position of arbitrator, instead of Kujhade. That's one thing we share in common. Hatred of that mutated freak that isn't even worthy to be called one of us, if you ask me," Setg'in went on, not bothering to ask or pause to see if U'darajhe had anything to add to the conversation.

U'darajhe realized yet again why he really couldn't stand this particular elder. He sort of hated the fact that he was participating in helping him overthrow Bakuub. Then again, Bakuub had been a fool to invest such trust in one the likes of Kujhade. He was a freak among them, and none but that other fool Mar'cte even paid him any attention beyond what was necessary. Not to mention the fact that it was only Setg'in who was willing to make him an arbitrator, if he could himself become the new Elder.

"Kujhade needs to die, and I'm going to do it myself," U'darajhe warned. That got Setg'in's attention, although he doubted that he would quite like what was said next.

"Killing him outright makes you a bad blood, and it ruins your chances of obtaining the rank you seek…idiot. This is why the council routinely chooses others ahead of you, because you don't think things through," Setg'in remarked coolly, liking the humiliated look that crossed U'darajhe's face. After a second or two, Setg'in let out a derisive chuff and stood up.

With his hands folded neatly behind his back, he walked over to an opaque wall. With a wave of his hands the wall became transparent to reveal the beauty and infinite depth of space. They were passing harmlessly through an asteroid field at the moment. They were the only other things moving out there as far as anyone could see. Setg'in motioned for U'darajhe to come stand next to him.

"No one could have foreseen the arrival of hard meats, but it could be fortuitous for the both of us. If we can make it seem as though Kujhade is guilty of allowing a hard meat to thrive in his presence, simply because he wished to mate it, killing him would no longer carry any consequences. In fact, it would almost be a matter of preserving Yautja pride. It would be a good act. The act of an honorable warrior. Bakuub's incompetence as a leader would be rightfully called into question for allowing such an enemy to thrive on this ship, endangering every yautja here. A challenge to his authority, to be decided by a fight to the death, would be the right of any council member to issue," Setg'in said, laying out his sinister plan as if he were ordering a meal or skinning prey. Casually plotting against his own.

He cast a long sideways glance at the young warrior next to him. U'darajhe was peering out at the panoramic view, seemingly lost in thought.

"You want Kujhade's lou-dte kale do you not?" He asked suddenly, startling U'darajhe out of his thoughts in order to look the elder in the eyes.

"You may have her," Setg'in said, turning his attention back towards the asteroid field they were just now beginning to clear. "Make it fast and make it quiet. Kujhade doesn't need to be provoked or have a real reason to challenge you, because he will win. Besides, she is key in his downfall, and she may not even survive this at all. In fact, it would work better in our favor if she did not."

U'darajhe said nothing. He would allow himself to be underestimated until the final hour. Then both Kujhade and this poor excuse for an elder would pay for their slights against him. For now though.

"I will not come here again," U'darajhe said suddenly, making his way towards the door, hopefully without any last words.

As the doors slid shut behind him, he was glad that Setg'in didn't have anymore "words of wisdom" to impart before he left. Setg'in was known to enjoy the sound of his own voice a bit too much. In any case U'darajhe had some plotting to do of his own. For starters, he was going to get that little ooman to himself once and for all, and he was going to enjoy himself immensely when he did. She was indeed key to Kujhade's suffering and downfall, and U'darajhe would make him suffer greatly on her account.


	12. The Little Things

He didn't quite tell her everything as she requested, but he told her more than he had ever told anyone. He spoke of how he had been left as a pup by his mother, to perish due to his abnormal coloring. He also spoke to her about the many frightening days and nights of the year he'd spent struggling to survive the harsh conditions, and fearsome animals of his planet. Jasmine had listened with rapt attention, hanging on every word. At one point he thought she'd even cried about it. Kujhade spoke of these things very matter-of-factly. Instead of bringing sadness, the memories brought him a sense of pride that he had survived and overcome many obstacles. It served to demonstrate his strength and will, his resourcefulness, and his absolute right to be counted among the best warriors of his generation. Kujhade had even told her once and for all that his albinism was not a good thing among his kind. He was alone most times not because others revered him, but because most reviled him.

"I think you're beautiful. Don't ever let anyone tell you any differently," she said to him through the steel door.

If she had been able to see his face, she would have seen his mandibles slackened in disbelief of what he'd heard.

"Where I come from there are plenty of people like that. Humans have a tendency to hate each other over the stupidest shit, and skin color is a big one. For us though, the lighter colored you are the better. It's typically darker skinned people that get the short end of that stick," she told him.

They were on either side of the door with their backs to it, sitting in the same position. Knees up, and forearms perched on top of them.

"You…like my coloring? It's not a good thing. It is difficult to camouflage sometimes. There's no beauty in being seen when you do not wish to be," he said with the certainty of the idea having been drilled into his head, coming through in his tone.

"Yet, you say you have one of the most extensive trophy rooms on the ship. So, how hard was it to camouflage again?" She asked, confident that she'd made her point when he failed to answer.

"Like I thought. Your colors are fine, and I rather like the cream and the green together. It's unique. They're just jealous ass haters that's all," she told him earning her one of his strange guttural chuckles.

"What is a hater?" He asked, becoming more intrigued at her use of the human language. He knew what hate was, but wondered if it meant the same as she was using it.

"A hater is a lame ass person that can't do what you do, can't be who you are, can't get what you got, has an inferiority complex, AND they always talk shit about others to make themselves feel better. That's the definition of a hater," she said, counting the reasons off on her fingers, and chuckling herself a bit.

On the other side of the door, Kujhade was nodding in thought. He could think of quite a few of these so-called haters, now that Jasmine had explained it.

"Now the one I see that you like to hang with, the short one. What's his name?" She asked through the door.

"Mar'cte," he replied.

"Yeah him, Mar'cte. Now he's not a hater. It seems like you and him get along mostly. Am I right?" She continued, looking over her shoulder as if she could see him.

"Yes, he is the only one I consider a friend of mine," he said, and she thought she could hear something approaching regret, or sadness over that fact.

"Pretty much how I figured it. Now, that other one whatever the hell his name is, he's a big time hater," she said, glad to get a little more laughter out of him.

"U'darajhe," he offered, not being able to stifle his chortling.

"Yeah whatever. Huge hater," she giggled again, pleased and comforted to be talking to him. Seeing another side of him.

"Very huge hater," he joined in, the laughter picking up steam.

"Humungous hater"

"Very large hater"

"Gigantic hater"

"The hater king," he said and they both burst out into laughter. Hers high pitched and chiming, his deep and rumbling.

He thought only Mar'cte could make him laugh like this. Without restraint, without feeling like he was wrong to laugh. Like he was wrong to feel happy. It struck him like a thunderbolt, as he sat on the steel floor with his head leaned forward, shoulders shimmying up and down, and one hand slapping the floor next to him. She was doing this. She was making him happy. It was just the start of it, but no one had come into his life and done that before her. The seventh day of her captivity couldn't come soon enough. She would be free then to come back to his quarters with him, to lay with him so that he could hear that pretty laugh while he held her in his arms. So that he could hear the moans he imagined she would make as he…..no. He couldn't think about that, not while he was in season, not while he couldn't really get to her like he wanted to.

Their laughter died down, as they both leaned their heads back against the door. Jazzy's mother stood looking angry as ever, but for once she couldn't hear the accusations and insults. The apparition wasn't doing anything more than looking. For the first time this evening, she had paid attention to it, and she discovered that as time passed it became more and more transparent.

Maybe she was finally beating this demon. She hoped so. It had dogged her for years. It was still dogging her. She used the music, singing, dancing, and everything else to beat it, but it wouldn't be beaten. Couldn't be beaten. That's what she'd always thought, but maybe it could be. Perhaps, she was holding on to the guilt and pain because, as uncomfortable as it was it was her comfort zone. Jasmine thought about what she'd left behind on Earth. The only thing of value back there was Marcus. Other than that, what she had been ripped away from wasn't really a life. Jasmine didn't want to be locked away as she was now, but she had found something very unlikely. Here there could be some kind of life. Maybe even love if she played her cards right. She wondered if this predator could actually ever love her. She herself wasn't in love, but she was certainly in like with him. Jasmine thought maybe he liked her too, and because she had nothing else to talk about she asked him straight out.

"Kujhade?" She asked soothingly.

"Yes?" He replied. She was relaxing to talk to and be around. Totally the opposite of how he thought she would be.

"Do you like me?" She asked and he became silent, as though he had become completely still against the door.

"What do you mean?" He asked. He might have known, but wanted to be sure of what she was asking exactly before he committed himself to any answer.

"I mean, are we friends? Do you like being around me and talking to me?" She asked, thinking maybe this was the wrong question. A human would have understood inherently what she meant.

"We are not friends. We are mates," he replied, although he wasn't quite sure if that was the right answer. His gut told him it was only partially correct.

"Oh," Jasmine said, her voice small.

"So, for you all, the yautjas I mean, if you are mates you can't be friends too?" She asked him. She was now curious as this gave her a bit of insight on how his kind viewed the concept of relationships.

"Mar'cte is my friend. He is my clan brother, my comrade. I share the experience of the hunt with him. I share tactics, hunting stories, important information with him. We travel the galaxies together for long periods of time, and we share the love and the importance of the hunt. You are my mate. You are called upon to carry my seed, birth my pups, and preserve my bloodline. Your work is among the most important to the survival of the clan. You care for the sucklings, and you see to their proper upbringing. This is a position that is just as honored as any noted hunter, if not more so," he told her. He was immensely proud of his race's attitude towards females.

Jasmine had gone quiet. All the concepts he had spoken of were not foreign to her. People lived and believed that in many parts of the world. In the New York that she had grown up in, that kind of thinking would have been shot down as antiquated and demeaning to women. It was the equivalent to women's place was in the home, and that should be enough for them. She had no idea that for Kujhade and his kind, it was much more than that. Their society was matriarchal in nature, and females were more than equals in the main society. They were clan elders and leaders sometimes of all female clans. Some of them hunted also. Not to mention, raising and rearing a pup was difficult work as well. The yautja were aggressive by nature. As soon as they were mobile they became forceful, and it took a strong mother to bring her pups to heel, and exert authority over them. It was the mother who taught the first lessons integral to the hunt.

"Is that what I'm here for? Is that all you want from me? Just to be a baby-maker?" She asked in a small bewildered voice. The thought frightened her.

She saw herself with kids, but that was something in the distant future. Jasmine had never imagined the father could be an alien. On top of that, she was too young to be a mother. Really, she was in no state to be mothering anyone, and who had the handbook on raising little predator kids? A million thoughts started running through her mind, and she was about to give voice to them when his answer cut through them all.

Kujhade had jumped to his feet so quickly, it made the guard turn with his weapon up. The term she had used, baby-maker, translated directly into lou-dte kale. It was derisive and disrespectful, and he didn't want her using the term in reference to herself.

"No! Jasmine you are not some lou-dte kale," He growled out vehemently.

"Well then what am I to you? Property? You said I belonged to you," she asked him. Any other time it would have come out with a stank attitude, but now it was just honest questions.

Kujhade struggled to find the right words in either his language or hers. He wanted to let her know that something had changed between the time he had angrily spit those words at her, and right now. There had been a sort of personal paradigm shift within him when it came to her.

At first, yes, her main purpose in his eyes was to be available to mate when he desired, and to birth his offspring. He would guide her on what sucklings needed to know in order to survive, and he thought he would keep it very neat and clean. He believed that he would be able to keep any unwanted feelings out of the matter. However, somewhere in the midst of the short time he had been around her, feelings had gotten into it. He found himself unable to keep up the distance between them that gave him so much comfort. It became increasingly difficult to remind himself that she was there only to perform a function, and nothing more. It began as the simple idea that he needed to coerce her enough so that he would not be in a position to force her to mate, which he would not do. His plan of making her walk around naked, and venturing to communicate with her had backfired spectacularly in his face. Kujhade had surprised himself in the way that he found her body very attractive. She smooth and soft, and best of all she was not dangerous.

"I'm sorry," Jasmine said, and by the sound of it she was going away from the door.

"Sorry, for what?" He asked, not understanding the change in demeanor.

"Sorry for asking stupid questions. You already told me that you owned me. That I belong to you," she said. Indeed she had gotten to her feet and was now stretching her legs.

"You _are_ mine Jasmine," he finally rumbled softly. He hoped that somehow his intent would permeate through the door, and reach her.

Something about the way he'd said it came across very differently to her. The first time he said that to her, he was choking her and screaming it. Now he was saying the exact same words, but the tone was very different. Jasmine had made it half way across the small space, but turned and went back to the door. Her mother flickered in disapproval, and became a little more transparent.

The wall that separated them wasn't exceptionally thick. They were physically apart perhaps a mere six inches or so, but the gulf between them now could not be traversed even in a month's journey. Simultaneously, they rested their foreheads against the door.

"Can I tell you something Kujhade?" She said to him through the door.

"Anything," he said and meant it.

"I miss sleeping with you, and I wish I could share your bed right now," Jasmine said, and couldn't believe just how true those words were.

That simple admission rocked him down deep in his core. She wanted to be with him of her own accord, not because she was resigning to it for lack of choice. His human mate wanted to lay with him among his furs. The implications were staggering, and his had to draw in a deep breath, and release it slowly to calm the thunderous beating of his massive heart.

"I miss it as well my mate. Soon we will be together, just have patience," he said as soothingly as possible.

"How long has it been? Seems like just a day or two, I can't tell anymore" Jasmine asked, sagging against the door and aching to be embraced by him.

"It has been four cycles already. Only three more," he replied, wanting to touch her soft skin again.

"I'm sorry that I got myself into trouble. I didn't mean to put you in a bad position," she said, yawning big as her eyes started to become heavy.

"Don't apologize to me anymore. Soon this will be over, and all will be as it was before," Kujhade said. She nodded as if he could see it.

"Goodnight Kujhade," she said, her voice getting a little distant as she turned from the door.

"Goodnight Jasmine," he said.

After a few minutes of just standing there trying to find reasons not to go in the cell and mate her, Kujhade decided to go get that small device she liked. He thought it would make her time locked away easier for her to bear.

Laying on the cot, and staring up at the ceiling, Jasmine was drifting off to sleep. She thought about the things he said about their relationship, if it could be called that yet. She thought he only wanted a living sex toy, but he wanted something more. Kujhade made it clear that he wanted a family. He wanted children, and had declared her the mother of them. What would that really mean for her? Absently she raised her tank top just above her belly, and rubbed her stomach. She was trying to imagine being pregnant. What kind of pregnancy would it be, and most importantly could she survive it? This was an alien pregnancy, so it couldn't possibly go the way she thought it would. What if the baby was too big, or what if it just clawed its way out of her? A shudder went down Jasmine's spine and she removed her hands from her abdomen. She tucked them between her knees as she rolled over into a fetal position facing the cold, plain wall.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I'm not all that happy about this chapter. I almost didn't post it. I scrapped it a few times and brought it back. I oscillated between thinking it would show them as they try to know one another, and it being too tedious and boring of a read. I wanted to write about our little hesitant, emotionally compromised couple, and I suppose I did. I want to get across the fear of this brand new thing for the both of them. On the other hand, I promise not to keep crawling their relationship along. I'm fighting the urge to just let them get their freak on, because I know you want the smexy smut. Hell, I want the smexy smut, but I need it to mean something, both to you the readers, and to the characters themselves. I want you to take them seriously as a couple, build a foundation for them to work on, and then go from there. What I refuse to do, is place Jasmine in this story as an excuse to write the smut we all so desperately crave, lol. I also refuse to humanize Kujhade too much. He is what he is, and I will do my very best to stay true to his nature. Thanks anyway for reading, and I promise the chapters coming up (which I am almost done writing), will see the pace of the story quickened a little.**


	13. Two Days

"Two more, Bakuub! Two! It's only a matter of time before the others do the same, and I see no reason to wait until it happens before we act!" Yeyinde, one of the elders of the council shouted. He was standing at his end of the long table, pounding it with a large fist for emphasis. His long grey tendrils were tied back neatly, and his golden eyes were finally dimming with age. He was affectionately known as The Old Hunter. Yeyinde spent many years hunting successfully, until he became a hunt master. He had trained Setg'in, and had been present at his chiva some five hundred and twenty years ago.

The other council members seemed to bicker with each other over their brother's statement. They had all convened again after the incident in the holding cells, and it had only served to steel their resolve for killing the human females off. They were all seated at one long table which sat in the middle of a room that didn't seem quite large enough to accommodate it. Every so many feet stood columns along the walls. On each of those columns were etched the names of the most illustrious hunters in their clan's history. The walls between each of those columns were backlit with the same yellow-orange light that filled the majority of the ship.

Bakuub, as the clan leader was seated at the head of this table, his chair slightly raised above the rest to denote his honored position. A position that would not long be his if he didn't get this council under control and on one accord with a decision.

"I hate to say it Bakuub, but our brother Yeyinde is right. We can no longer consider them a non-threat to the safety of this clan ship. They are dangerous and must be killed. There is no dishonor in that," Setg'in said with a sympathetic look on his face.

"He's hesitating because his beloved Kujhade has one of them. Are you afraid to upset him or something Bakuub? You know just because you oversaw his chiva doesn't mean you owe…"

"ENOUGH!" Bakuub growled, standing to his feet with mandibles flared.

The elder who was speaking gave him a hard stare at first, before dropping his gaze. The others growled a bit just out of habit and pride, but eventually settled down to hear what Bakuub had to say.

"First, I'm not afraid of anything, either on or off this ship. Second, this isn't just about Kujhade and the other honored hunters. This is about the stability of the males on this ship. Many of whom will never mate despite being eligible. There were too many fights, and a few ended in death. We were losing hunters because we had to brand them bad bloods and banish them to the game reserves and other places. What I'm trying to do here is…" Bakuub was saying before Setg'in piped up disrespectfully.

"What you are trying to do is cover up your mess Bakuub. Just admit that you made, a rather unwise decision to say the lease," Setg'in interrupted.

For a moment, Bakuub glared at him, mandibles clicking audibly together as he tried to restrain himself from jumping across the table in an all-out attack. The room went silent as the tension became thick enough to slice with a wrist blade. Setg'in sat comfortably in his seat giving Bakuub a very cool look.

"I recall several of you, including you Setg'in, salivating at the chance to bed one of these exotic females. If I'm not mistaken, more than a few of you have ordered those very females to come to your quarters for mating, sometimes two or three at once. So don't tell me about a decision that "I" made," Bakuub growled out, the anger just under the surface.

"With that being said I am the leader of this clan ship, and ultimately it was my decision to bring the women on board. It was my decision not to execute them, and that is still my decision," Bakuub stated as the room erupted into snarls, clicks, and growls of both approval and disapproval.

Without waiting for a response Bakuub turned away, cloak fanning out behind him in dramatic fashion. The rest of the council members were just beginning to rise from their seats, and attend what other business they had. Most of them were still discussing Bakuub's decision, somewhat arguing over it until Setg'in rose to his feet. Bakuub was almost out of the door when Setg'in spoke.

"Bakuub!" He called across the room. Bakuub stopped although he did not turn towards Setg'in. Showing your back to one who was talking to you, was not so much a sign of disrespect among them, as it was a way to show that the one with his back turned did not view the speaker as a threat in the least. It was dismissive if nothing else, and none of the council members missed the implication of Bakuub's turned back.

"It is not wise to leave your back turned to me Bakuub," Setg'in warned, dangerously close to starting a serious altercation.

"Should I be worried to find a dah'Nagara (short sword) in it?" Bakuub asked. Only silence answered. "Speak Setg'in, and be quick about it."

"It is a mistake to let them live. It is clear by your inability to act, that you are favoring your little pet over the safety and security of the rest of the clan. Know that if one more yautja dies because you failed in your duties, that blood is on your hands and there may be one among us that is unafraid to avenge it," Setg'in stated. The threat and intent thinly veiled in concern for others.

"This has nothing to do with Kujhade," Bakuub said evenly. His patience was wearing thin, but it was better to hold his temper. Many times a hunter goads their quarry into a mistake, only to ensnare them into the waiting trap. Bakuub had not gotten this far by being so easily prodded.

"I think I may have hit a nerve. Tell me, Bakuub, is there more that we should know about the two of you? You seem very sensitive when anyone brings him up," Setg'in said.

"Setg'in! That is more than enough!" Yeyinde commanded as he rose to his feet, all his considerable attention and energy directed at his onetime pupil.

"You will settle down! If you cannot issue a challenge like a real yautja, instead of like a coward, then do not issue it!" Yeyinde yelled directly at Setg'in, who then smartly said nothing more.

The other council members looked upon Setg'in with disdain, except two or three who gave him approving looks, despite the Old Hunter's reprimand. Bakuub himself simply walked out of the door. He had known for a long time that Setg'in wished to take his position, but not until now had he made it so blatantly clear. Bakuub knew that he had to tread carefully. To lose his position, he would have to die, either by natural causes or death match. With that in mind he set out to get to the bottom of whatever plans Setg'in had put into motion. Setg'in's reputation for being cunning and even sneaky, preceded him and it was not unfounded. Bakuub would need to be careful indeed.

* * *

"Jasmine," Kujhade rumbled softly, gently shaking her shoulder with a large clawed hand.

"Wha-!" She woke up with a start despite his gentle waking tactics.

It took a few seconds for coherency to come, but when it did she smiled widely. She was about to say his name until she remembered her morning breath. She covered her mouth with her hand and sat up. Only when she sat up on the cot, did she realize that he was holding out something to her. Her eyes widened as she saw her old waist pack and iPod in his hands. The items seemed like toys while he was holding them. Jasmine put one finger up, wait a minute, as she scooted off the cot and went to the sink. She grabbed the small tube of toothpaste, and the little toothbrush and took care of her mouth. After she was done, she turned around to see that Kujhade was watching her closely.

"Quite acting like you ain't never seen me brush my teeth," she said, turning back towards him where he was still holding out the items. She plucked them out of his hands, feeling both happy and a sense of dread to have them. The iPod was perfect, but the weed was still in the pack, and even though she had wanted to smoke, she was also thinking that she should just stop cold turkey instead of making excuses to wait.

"Why do you need to do that? Your teeth do not clean themselves?" He asked, genuinely wanting to know.

Jasmine stopped to look at him. Was he serious? The look in his face told her that he was very serious.

"No they don't. Do your teeth clean themselves?" She asked. She just had to know the answer to that.

"Yes they do. Bacteria on the inner cheek cleans them daily," he said as if he didn't understand how that could not be common knowledge or practice.

"Well that would explain why your breath never stinks. It ain't the same over here. We have to actually clean our teeth and mouth or suffer the consequences," she said, taking the pack and sitting it on the floor next to the cot.

She began to gather and fold the pelts that Kujhade had procured for her. He stepped back to allow her space to get things in order, liking how neat and clean she seemed to be. He didn't remember having to tidy up after her, which was wonderful. Kujhade hated mess and clutter, and preferred to have things in their proper places at all times. Jasmine didn't notice Kujhade slide over to the sink, and pick up her toothbrush. He looked back over his shoulder. She was still folding the pelts, fussing with the corners that wouldn't fold in flat. He turned back around and tried to mimic what he'd seen her do. He removed the impossibly small toothpaste cap and set it carefully on the edge of the small sink. He then held the little brush in one hand, the paste in the other and for a slight second couldn't figure it out. With a light grunt of realization, he then squirted a ridiculous amount of toothpaste on the brush. Jasmine walked over, apparently done fighting with the furs, and stood next to him, aghast at what he was about to do with her toothbrush.

"What the hell are you doing with my damn toothbrush?!" She asked, with her hands on her hips. It was gross, just the thought of someone else using your toothbrush, but she couldn't bring herself to stop him. She wished desperately that she had her camera, and then thought about the iPod.

"Wait!" She told him, making him pause his long inspection of the items in his hand.

She hastily got the iPod and tapped the camera icon, hoping it still functioned. To her delight it did. She stood back next to Kujhade who was looking at her with his head tilted way to the side, trying to figure out what her issue was. Jasmine positioned the camera on video mode and waved him to continue.

"Okay, now go. Brush your teeth, but you owe me another toothbrush after this though," she warned. She was looking through the iPod at him, moving back as he reached for it to inspect it finally. He wanted to know what she found so interesting about it. From where he stood, it looked like super old technology to him.

"One thing at a time man. Just brush your teeth first, then you can have a look at my iPod," she said, already starting to smile and giggle at the thought.

"iPod?" He rumbled out questioningly.

"Yeah that's what this is called. Apple made it," she said, not realizing that he would have no idea what that meant.

He stood to consider how the translator interpreted what she'd just said. It must be broken. He'd have to get it changed or something, because there was no way that she meant that a piece of Earth fruit had anything to do with the inorganic item in her hand. He shrugged it off, and turned his attention back to the strange mouth cleansing items in his hand. Tentatively he raised the brush to his mouth and slowly opened his tusks. Clenching his teeth as she had done, he began to brush the substance onto his teeth. Jasmine started to giggle, clasping a hand over her mouth to quiet it, as he darted his eyes over to her. He was holding the brush vertically, and trying to move it from side to side, until he realized that didn't make much sense. Jasmine had moved up and down, so he awkwardly turned the tiny brush horizontally, in order to get a better grip and motion. By this time, Jasmine was biting her hand trying not to laugh and shake the camera, but this was just too funny. Kujhade had this really wide-eyed expression, as he was bringing the brush to his mouth, then when he finally got it there, he shut his eyes tightly against it like a child taking nasty medicine. Slowly he brushed his teeth, keeping his eyes shut tightly. When the paste started to foam, he opened them again and set the brush down carefully. He opened his inner teeth, and she saw something protrude from between them. It took her about two seconds to figure out it was his tongue. It was pink and very long, almost tubular in its shape, and forked at the tip. It snaked out and gathered some of the foam.

"No, you're not supposed to lick it Kujhade!" Jasmine warned through her laughter, but it was too late.

Kujhade's face screwed up in an exaggerated expression of disgust that she didn't think his face could pull off. One lower tusk was jutted out straight, the other tucked in tightly, the two top ones were clicking, and his eyes were squinted and watering. He looked over at her, his expression pleading as if begging her to make it stop. Jasmine couldn't hold it anymore, not that she had been so successful in the first place. This was the most hilarious thing she had ever seen. She stumbled back against the wall, holding her side with one arm wrapped around her, as the other did a poor job of focusing the camera. Suddenly, Kujhade let out a strangled roar that sounded like he was about to retch. He turned the water on and started frantically rising his mouth, splashing water everywhere in the process.

"Oh my god!" Jasmine said, finally giving up on holding the camera as she sunk down to the floor gasping between guffaws.

"I'm weak! Your eyes though!" She continued until she was laughing so hard she wasn't making noise anymore. She was now on the floor literally rolling around with tears in her eyes.

A few seconds later she heard the small crack of her toothbrush being snapped in two, and thrown across the room. The toothpaste tube quickly followed it, as a scraping sound caught her attention. Looking through vision blurred by laugh tears, she saw him raking the sink with his claws, leaving behind visible marks in the metal.

"Stop laughing!" Kujhade thundered looking for things in the small space to rip to shreds.

Jasmine sat up, but was still in the grips of a giggle fit that refused to stop. She watched as he tore around the room, pounding his fist on the wall and looking around. His attention finally settled on the furs and he stalked over and just raked his claws through the neat folds. The furs fell to the floor in ragged pieces, as he stood there, chest heaving and face still a little screwed up. When his eyes settled on the iPod that was still in her hand, he moved to snatch it. That's when Jasmine stopped laughing completely.

"If you touch this device, I swear to god you're gonna have to kill me in this cell Kujhade," she said, meaning every syllable.

Kujhade stopped short, recognizing that his little tantrum had gone a bit too far. Jasmine had just threatened him, and he was more than a little shocked that she had. She didn't strike him as the fighting type. Sure she was a little foul-mouthed but that was nothing. When he looked into her face her hair was covering her eyes, but he could tell that she meant it. She would attack him, or try to, if he destroyed the thing that she swore an apple had made.

Jasmine made it to her feet and stood before him. At first she had thought to get a safe distance from him, but then there was no safe distance. Especially in such a confined area. If he wanted to hurt or kill her, there was nothing she could have done to stop it, and here she had threatened him. The never ending string of dumb ass choices, was never ending. She swallowed thickly, figuring she had stepped in it now so she might as well finish it out. Jasmine walked up to him and stood just in front of him.

Kujhade knew he had gone too far, but still wasn't ready to stop being mad. His broad chest heaved, and his mandibles twitched in irritation. He could still taste the foul substance. His green eyes flicked around the room, not wanting to look directly at Jasmine. He was ashamed at his outburst, but there was no reason that she should know that. He sensed her apprehension, and that was a good thing. She shouldn't be getting too comfortable around him. Especially if she was going to make laughing at him a regular thing.

"You done with your little tantrum, or you gonna smack me around next?" She asked accusingly. That got his attention as his eyes snapped to her face. His mouth worked as if he wanted to say something, but she cut him off.

"Go ahead, belt me across the face give me a good fat lip. Or you can bust me upside the head and open up this wound again, whaddya think?" She said, hoping that her sass would make him think, rather than make him angry.

After defiantly standing there glaring at her, Kujhade finally hung his head a little bit, and grunted something that sounded almost like an apology. Jasmine breathed a small sigh of relief, before she walked up a little closer. Kujhade took a single step back, his mind already turning from the tantrum and the horrible "cleansing" substance that he could still kind of taste, to the woman standing in front of him.

"What's wrong? You still mad baby? Jazzy won't laugh at Mr. Kujhade no more 'kay?" She cooed at him. She stepped a little closer, and once again he stepped back once as well.

"Well what the fuck Kujhade? One minute you can't keep your claws to yourself, and the next minute you can't get far enough away? What's up?" Jasmine asked, growing exasperated.

"Jasmine, I'm in season," Kujhade said, hoping that was explanation enough. When she smiled a kind of smile he hadn't seen since the day she'd sucked his thumb, something in his gut told him he would both regret and rejoice in giving her that information.

"Well, well, well, I thought something like that was going on. Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She said silkily as she walked him right into the cot. He was forced to take a seat on it as she pressed between his legs and began to straddle his lap. She had no idea how dangerous it was to present herself this way, while he was in mating season. She started landing kisses on his crest and face, while holding his head between her hands.

"You know…"

 _Smooch_

"That I…"

 _Smooch_

"Can take care…"

 _Smooch_.

"Of that, right?" She said, her voice stirring his loins and his desire.

"Jasmine, no, please…" Kujhade said as a purr made it way from his chest, and vibrated down the length of his body.

His large hands settled on her waist, as she made herself more comfortable on his lap. Against his better judgement, he leaned his head back against the wall, thinking that if she pulled his tendrils even one little time, he was going to bite her, and mate her immediately. She was right on top of his codpiece, and when she did a little circle of her hips, his eyes shot open.

"We…can't. Jasmine, we can't….not..now," he managed between the purrs she was pulling out of him.

"Why not?" She said in a breathy voice, as she bent her head lower to kiss down his shoulder and trail to his chest. She did another circle thing with her hips, and this time he rose to meet her, his loin cloth and her jeans blocking any real feeling, but it was delicious anyway.

Jasmine was getting lost in the purring, and the fog of her own lust. The feeling of raw, powerful, unadulterated male, struggling to keep his composure underneath her, was intoxicating. It was a high that rivaled any drug she had ever taken, and as he continued to buck under her, she felt herself losing the battle for restraint and control.

"I said we…can't," Kujhade said, his purr turning steadily into a growl as he walked closer to the edge of his control.

Suddenly, he stood up still holding her to his body. Her legs were to either side of him, as he held one hand on her waist, and one hand grabbing the back of her neck. He growled at her, his mandibles clicking fast, making that sound that only his species was capable of. She was holding his head in her hands still, but then quickly removed her hands from him. Her eyes got wide, and she froze in his arms, unsure of what to do next, or what had changed within mere seconds. He turned and placed her forcefully against the wall, not being able to help grinding against her in one agonizingly slow motion, growling the entire time. Jasmine was forced to grab hold around his neck just to be stable in his arms, and not jostled around. His green eyes were like fire lit lamps, as she looked up and into them. He was frightening to behold, but her lust had not quite left her. Pushing the limits, she rolled her hips forward, and he was right there to meet them. He jerked his head down, grazing his mandibles against the bare skin of her shoulder, which was now coated in a thin sheen of sweat. His scent, which she hadn't noticed before now, was strong all around him. It smelled sweet, and sort of spicy but even so Jasmine had no point of reference for it, making it truly not of her world. He contemplated sinking all four of his tusks into the taut, soft skin of her shoulder. Kujhade could almost taste it, but thought it would be so much better if he were to do that while in the act of mating. It would mean more then. So instead, he opted to simply mark her by making her wear his scent. He brought his face to hers, looking in her eyes once more before marking her. It was almost a feline thing to do. He rubbed his entire jawline along the apples of her cheeks, two or three times. When he was done, he lowered her to the floor, holding a hand to her back to steady her as she swayed a minute on her feet.

He wanted to mate her so badly now, that it physically ached him. The fact that she was so willing to participate, made the ache even more pronounced. Still, it wasn't the right place. First, anyone could come in and see it. In and of itself, having witnesses to the mating act was not only a normal occurrence among their kind, it was welcome. The more witnesses the better, in order to make note of the identity of the sire. The mating was so quick, and the opportunity so fleeting, that a male did not have the luxury of getting to a private place. If he didn't subdue the female right away, it was possible to lose his right to mate her and even be physically hurt in the process. Secondly, he didn't want any other male hearing or smelling her. She was his, and that was the end of it.

"Two days Jasmine," he said huskily, finally finding his voice again. All she could do was nod weakly at him.

He stood back and fixed his loin cloth, the hem of which came down to his mid-thigh. The cloth itself was doing nothing more than covering the codpiece for further modesty, as it didn't go all the way across the front of his thighs. The belt holding it up slung low on his hips, and Jasmine could see his very prominent Adonis belt reaching from below his abs to point towards the Promised Land. His mask was nowhere to be found, as the only other things he wore were some trinkets around his wrists made of some kind of bones, like bracelets. He stood tall, gave her one last long up and down, and then strode out of the cell without another word.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so I'm happier with this chapter. I'm excited to look more into what Setg'in might be up to, with U'darajhe his little lap dog. I think Bakuub is smart, but perhaps too deliberate in his decision making. I don't know yet. I like to let the characters tell me who they are, I just have to hold my end of the bargain and represent them correctly.**

 **Answers to Reviews:**

 **Cityhunterluv** \- That's an interesting take on Jasmine and her mindset. I agree, she should try to let things go and move forward. I have faith that she will do just that. She has to find a way to actually confront her past, not just find a coping mechanism. That hasn't worked out so terribly well for her so far. I think she's a strong young woman, but she has to figure that out for herself.

 **KATT9033** \- I have a plan for that coming up in the next chapter or so. She'll end up telling him what's really happening with her. I think he's concerned, but doesn't quite know what to be concerned about.

 **write more soon** \- Trying to do just that buddy! Fast as I can, like the gingerbread man.

(Side note about the gingerbread man. If a piece of bread done got up and is now walking, talking, taunting you, and running around, why would you wanna catch it? Once he runs off the property, you should be trying to lock all the doors and windows so his little spicy ass can't get back in. Ijs.)

 **Yautstar** \- Thanks! I'm trying my best to write well for you guys. These are some of the most awesome reviews I've ever gotten, and I've gotten some pretty kick-ass reviews before. I'm doing my best to give you all something good to read, and hopefully some things to think about with these characters.

 **APiecsOfPie4Everybody011** \- I am so not killing her off. I don't know if you've ever read any of my other stuff before, but it's funny you should have that concern. Let's just say I'm not afraid to kill a character!


	14. With Teeth

Throughout his many years, Setg'in had done much that would have gotten him labelled a Bad Blood, and thus killed. He was a late bloomer as far as hunting was concerned, despite being trained by Yeyinde, one of the best hunt masters in their clan. He was not particularly even inclined to hunting so much as he was inclined to attaining power and rank. Since every notable position and rank was dictated by the success and nature of your hunt, he was forced to take it seriously. However, that shouldn't suggest that he always took the most honorable means to victory. He had no choice but to play by the rules during his chiva. They were monitored closely, so there was no room for funny business.

Setg'in didn't need any unfair advantages to hunt, he just preferred to have them. He believed firmly in working smarter not harder, and that philosophy had served him very well. He had boasted a trophy room filled with spoils, some of which were ill-gotten. Like the time he stole two skulls of some Natuaks, that another hunter had already killed. Setg'in had left to hunt them also, had infringed on the other hunters grounds without his knowledge, and had waited until the perfect time to sneak up and kill him, just to get the skulls he was carrying. This was a major infraction, and should have cost him his life, but he was never caught. Setg'in cared little for the silly codes of honor, and some of the old fashioned rules that governed the hunt and their society at large. He didn't care how he attained his trophies and thus his rank, so long as he was perceived to be honorable. Of course there were whispers. There were always whispers, but never any evidence. It didn't matter what anyone believed, it only mattered what they could bring before a council, and there was never anything concrete. So whispers it remained. Rumors about how he was a trophy thief, or how he may have sacrificed a brother or two during a trip to one of the game reserve planets, were always floating around. Setg'in ignored and denied them all, while constantly gaining rank after rank, and siring so many pups he'd lost count.

Now there was only one more position he desired, only one more rank to attain. He wanted to be a clan leader, but this is where it all became tricky. Only hunters with the most pristine record of honor could ever be chosen as a clan leader. While he was never actually found to be dishonorable, his reputation among his kind was always a bit of a question mark. If a yautja could be charming, then Setg'in fit that bill. He had a sharp mind, with a tongue to match, and he was quite persuasive among his kind when it suited him. He operated often behind the scenes, preferring to blend in and be forgotten until the time was right. He floated into a clan, caused enough dissention in the ranks to attain some goal, and then floated out before fingers could be pointed his way. He had a knack for staying clean while he manipulated others into doing all the dirty work.

These days, it was risky business trying to keep his own hands out of the muck, when there was so much to stir around. U'darajhe was just stupid enough to let himself be used, but Setg'in didn't put all his eggs in that basket. Stupid or not, U'darajhe was spiteful and had ambitions of his own. Having an ambitious idiot on a leash was dangerous, because those kind never knew they were even on leashes. They always thought they were equal, when they were really under your heel.

At present, Setg'in was readying his ship. He had been in his chambers, thinking of how the whole hard meat situation was unfortunately taking care of itself. It was a weird little anomaly that he had hoped would be the catalyst for the changes needed to ensure him the leader role. It may still be used to undermine Bakuub's authority, but Setg'in couldn't rely only on that. His plan B was a little less diplomatic, and a little more violent. A planet in a nearby solar system had been seeded for an upcoming chiva. It would be fairly simple to go in and grab a few kiande amedha eggs, bring them back to the clan ship, and let nature take its course. It was tempting in its way, but that wasn't the direction in which Setg'in wanted to go. Not too far from that planet was a small secret outpost full of outcasts, thieves from every corner of the galaxy, murderers, and of course bad blood yautja. It was there that Setg'in was headed. It was there that he could find just the right sort to carry out his plans, and keep his hands clean until the fatal moment.

He was relatively alone in the ship's large hangar. There were only a few guards milling around, but his rank ensured that none of them would interfere in his comings and goings. He was waiting on U'darajhe, but didn't want to wait for long. He had smuggled two of the ooman women out and into his ship, and didn't want them stirring or making noise before he could leave.

Setg'in had gotten into his personal ship and was going over a systems check when he saw the younger hunter striding towards him. Setg'in watched him get in and take a seat in the co-pilot chair.

"It took you long enough," Setg'in said. "I was about to leave without you. What were you doing?"

"Trying to take care of something," U'darajhe answered vaguely, as he engaged in his own personal system check.

"Were you able to mate Kujhade's female?" Setg'in asked, already figuring the answer by the look U'darajhe gave him.

"No, he won't leave his post, and it is the last day of her imprisonment in any case. I will have her when she feels safe enough to roam the ship," U'darajhe said. In truth it had disgusted him to see Kujhade have such dedication to protecting female ooman trash.

"It doesn't matter to me. I have more important matters than to worry over you and who you mate with," Setg'in said, finally satisfied with his systems, and having preloaded the destination coordinates.

"You never said where we were headed," U'darajhe asked as the ship taxied towards the opening hangar doors. Setg'in turned to him with a devious glint in his eye, and a lower mandible upturned in a ghost of a smile.

"You'll see when we get there," he said cryptically as the ship passed through the doors and into the void of space.

* * *

Setg'in was up to something and Bakuub knew it. The only problem was that there was no proof or evidences of what it may have been. He wished he had time to figure out what it was before it could cause problems, but there were too many other things to see to. For one, letting those females out of captivity would need to be done. He had given his word that it would be seven cycles, and he could not go back on it.

Bakuub was sitting in the ship's main control room. Before him were a series of holographic panels, each depicting different areas in and around the ship. He watched as Setg'in's ship left its bay and jetted off into space. He'd been way too eager to oversee the seeding progress of the nearby planet for a chiva. It didn't sit right in Bakuub's gut to allow it, but there was no real reason to stop him from going. On top of that it would have seemed like nothing more than petty retaliation for Setg'in's outburst at the last meeting. The only upside to it, was that it would get Setg'in out of his hair for the next month or more.

Bakuub was still looking at the various screens when the doors to the bridge slid open. In walked Yeyinde, a welcome but odd sight to see in this part of the ship. These days, the Old Hunter preferred imparting his considerable knowledge to all the unblooded young males on the ship, or contributing in writing to the history of the clan. He was the oldest yautja on the ship and was well liked and respected by all who encountered him. At present he seemed uneasy as he approached Bakuub's station. Out of respect Bakuub came from behind the controls and faced his elder. Grasping the opposite shoulder of the older yautja and shaking it gently, Bakuub greeted Yeyinde.

"You are a welcome sight. What brings you here old hunter?" Bakuub asked. He had motioned Yeyinde to take his own seat before the large control panel, as he took a seat in the co-pilot chair next to him.

"I came here to speak with you Bakuub. I need to ask just a few questions, for my own knowledge and I would prefer to ask without the interference of the council," Yeyinde said, turning a little in his seat so that he was face to face with the clan leader. Bakuub motioned him to continue.

"I need to know that the decision you have made was because you thought it was right, and not because of your affection for Kujhade," Yeyinde said, getting straight to the point. Bakuub couldn't help a small grin. It was one of the things he liked most about the old hunt master.

"Are we speaking about the human women that are to be released from their captivity today?" Bakuub asked knowing fully the answer.

"You know very well what I'm talking about Bakuub. Did you believe it was the right decision?" Yeyinde asked again.

Bakuub could see the concern and the need to solidify for himself Bakuub's intention, reading in his elder's face. He hadn't known that his decision had affected him this much.

"Yeyinde, you know that I would never place the desires of one, before the needs and safety of every yautja on this ship. I love Kujhade as if he were my own pup, but I did not make this decision because of him," Bakuub said, and he could see Yeyinde relax.

"I thought you wanted those females dead anyway Old Hunter. What happened that makes you so concerned about their condition now?" Bakuub asked. Yeyinde scoffed at the notion as he rose to leave.

"I care nothing for those women. I was against it from the start if you recall. I care for you Bakuub. You are young yet, and you are patient. Others are not patient, and may use it against you that you are not rash.

Bakuub had stood also, as they both walked leisurely towards the sliding double doors. Both of them had their hands behind their backs, clicking their tusks thoughtfully.

"I can handle Setg'in, Yeyinde," Bakuub said, turning to face the older Hunter. He once again placed a clawed hand on the opposite shoulder of the elder, and shook it gently back and forth. "He is a nuisance to me, and he wants my position, but he would not be the first and nor would he be the last to want that."

"Let us hope so young leader. Setg'in is cunning and will use whatever is within his means to attain what he wants," Yeyinde said with a solemn look. There was something in that look that Bakuub did not like, but decided not to press Yeyinde to say more.

"I will take heed to your advice," was all that Bakuub said or really wanted to say.

Yeyinde clapped Bakuub's shoulder a couple of times before exiting the main bridge with only a grunt to end the conversation. It left Bakuub to ponder his words. Yeyinde knew Setg'in better than anyone, or at least he did when Setg'in was younger. Before Setg'in joined his clan and the council, Yeyinde had nothing but glowing remarks to say, and had been Setg'in's main advocate for almost everything. However, after spending some time around one another, Bakuub noticed a coolness between the once teacher and student pair. Mainly it was the Old Hunter that had cooled off from spending too much time with Setg'in, although the reason for it was a mystery. Bakuub shook his head. He needed to send word to release the women from imprisonment. He headed over to the main controls in order to do just that.

* * *

Kujhade paced the floor of his chambers. Jasmine was to be let out, and for some reason he felt like some form of preparation was needed, although he had not a clue as to what it should have been. He had already been to the kehrite to work off his extra energy, at least four times today and he was still nervous. He hadn't been this out of sorts since he was preparing for his chiva. He didn't want to wait any longer. He decided that he needed to see her this instant, so he wrapped his best, longest loin cloth around him. If anyone who wasn't color blind was looking at it, they would have seen it was white on the border, with a red band of color down the center. Written on the front in bold lettering was his clan's symbol. He didn't put on any armor, but he did put on his leather belts that went around his upper chest like a holster. Instead of holding a gun, the holster housed two retractable hunter's knives on his left side, just above his ribcage. Of course his gauntlet was ever-present, as well as his wrist blades. After he felt prepared to see her, Kujhade headed towards the cell where his mate was being held.

He was almost to the cells, when he ran into Mar'cte. As usual, Mar'cte was in good spirits almost seeming to bounce along the hall.

"Today's the day Kujhade! We can finally get our females to ourselves," he said as he clapped Kujhade on the shoulder. "It was stupid anyway," Mar'cte said, his tone changing into something a little more serious.

"It wasn't stupid, it was the right thing to do. I hated every minute of it, but Bakuub could have killed them all and there would have been nothing we could have done about it," Kujhade stated. It was the truth, but that didn't make the thought any more bearable.

"I know, but I really wanted to mate and this imprisonment stopped me, so it remains stupid," Mar'cte said with a light trill as Kujhade gave him a bit of a shove. Just like two young bloods.

As they approached, the two guards standing watch nodded slightly as they allowed passage. Kujhade approached the cell where Jasmine was, as he had so many times before. Inside, he could hear the sound of her singing. He leaned against the door to listen. He didn't understand the words, but it was a slower song and for whatever reason it got his loins stirring. Then again, there wasn't much nowadays that didn't get his loins stirring. He was about to open Jasmine's cell when he saw Mar'cte walk past him without his two females. Kujhade gave him a questioning look.

"My females aren't here. The other guard told me they were taken to the medic bay. I will see you later on Kujhade," Mar'cte said as he walked out of the holding area, on his way to the medic bay. Kujhade gave him a nod, and turned his attention back to Jasmine's song, which had apparently stopped. Feeling just a twinge of disappointment, he pressed the lock on the wall and the doors slid open to reveal Jasmine sitting on the cot with her knees pulled up. She had her eyes closed, humming a tune. She opened them with a start once she realized that Kujhade had entered the small cell.

"Hey baby!" she said as she snatched the earbuds out of her ears, jumped off the cot, and ran the short distance to him.

'Hey baby'. Apparently some term of endearment from her language. He realized a little while after she'd first said it that she wasn't trying to insult him by calling him a suckling. He trilled softly at the use of the phrase. He grabbed her up in his arms briefly, before putting her down. He lightly gripped her shoulders as he held her out at arm's length.

"You are free Jasmine. You may come with me now," he said as he reached down to grab her by the wrist and lead her, as he loved to do.

"Wait, we can go? They lettin' me out this fuckin' joint?! Oh shit, lemme get my shit!" Jazzy said as she pulled herself from his grip and turned to gather her 'things'. Then she stopped cold, and took a good look at all of it. There was nothing there that she wanted to take back except her iPod, and she already had that in her hands. To the left of all of it, stood the very faint flicker of her mother. She was trying her best to plague Jasmine, but she had lost much of her power and hold over her daughter. Jasmine wasn't done. She hadn't fully beat the demon, and didn't know if she would ever be completely free of her past, but this was a big step. Jasmine cracked a half smile, and turned on her toes towards Kujhade, almost doing a half-assed pirouette. What she saw when she turned surprised her and made her giggle. Kujhade was wearing sunglasses.

"What do you have on Lite Brite?" she said strolling over to him and offering her wrist freely for him to grab. She knew how much he liked leading her around, and made a note to ask him about it one day soon. For right now though, she just wanted to get the hell out of there.

"A visor. It is like my mask, but without the breathing apparatus. I can change the spectrum of my vision with it. I used to use it for hunting, but soon left it behind. I thought I should see you as a human would see you," Kujhade said, to Jasmine's endless delight.

"Well, you can tell me all about it on our way home," Jasmine said, grateful to now be standing on the other side of that damn door.

"Home?" Kujhade said with a raised thorny brow. Had she really come to this level of acceptance that she was referring to his quarters as her own home?

"Yeah, unless you puttin' me out or something. You got another woman up there Lite Brite?" Jazzy asked playfully, as she moved her wrist from his hand, and replaced it by intertwining their fingers. He didn't get it at first, but then understood the gesture, and eagerly did the same.

"No, I would never bring another female there. You must believe me Jasmine," Kujhade said earnestly. He didn't want her thinking he had gone and replaced her.

"Okay Lite Brite, I was just joking," she assured. She stroked his large bicep a little as they walked, not being able to help herself from looking up at him in awe. He never ceased to amaze her, although the sight of him in those glasses was too much. He was the world's most hip-happening-cool predator, and it threatened to cause a giggle fit, but somehow she held it in while he explained the particulars of his infrared vision to her.

Their long meandering walk, upwards from the bowels of the ship, underneath the large noisy mess hall, through the long backlit halls carved with the history of his people, finally ended up at the elevators. He talked and talked, until it seemed to Jasmine that Kujhade might have been nervous. The thought of him being nervous made him more relatable to her, and she smiled brightly at him once they entered the lift and the doors closed.

"What is it?" he asked still looking at her through his visors. He could now see the details of her face, and he was intrigued and happy about that. Her skin was dark which was considered more desirable among his own kind, her hair was almost the same color as her skin which he found fascinating. He stopped himself before his eyes could travel any lower. He would be looking at that soon enough.

"You look very nice Kujhade. Sexy in fact. Did you get dressed up for me?" She asked, and she could have sworn a flush of green crossed his crest. His eyes darted around before settling on her. Jasmine was giving him a very slow up and down, and biting her bottom lip just a little. Kujhade couldn't help but puff his chest with male pride.

"It's nothing. Only my cloth, nothing more," he said trying not to make a big deal about it.

"Mm, well it looks good," she said as she traced delicate fingers upwards along his inner arm and bicep. Kujhade trilled lightly at her touch.

As soon as the doors opened, he interlocked their fingers and just about pulled her off her feet, rushing to his quarters. He stopped short when he got to the doors, and gave her a look she couldn't read.

"I have something for you Jasmine," he said as he unlocked the door. It slid open quietly as he led her inside.

"You got me something?" She asked, not quite believing it. She was about to ask until she saw it. Propped up with the light seeming to shine directly on it, although that had to just be coincidence, was her bow.

"I fixed it for you. It seems primitive, but a fine weapon nonetheless," Kujhade said, gesturing her to take a closer look.

Jasmine clasped both hands to her mouth in shock, as she walked slowly over to it. She looked back at him, eyes wide over her fingers, then back at the bow.

"Oh my god," she whispered behind her hands. Slowly she reached out to touch it. It was the recurve bow she had found. Kujhade had taken the time to restore the weapon to its former glory. Jasmine picked it up, tracing her fingers over the smooth surface of the wood. She lifted it as if she were taking aim, and pulled the string. It was amazingly taut as it ought to have been. Overjoyed, she set it down carefully and ran over to Kujhade, jumping into his arms.

"I love it!" Jasmine exclaimed, as she wrapped her legs and arms around him.

"Do you know how to use it?" He asked, and she could see the spark in his eyes at the thought of using the weapon, or perhaps the thought of her using it.

"I'm rusty because it's been a lot of years, but yeah I pretty much know what to do with it," she said, relaxing in his arms as he carried her over to his bedding.

"I will train you, starting tomorrow," Kujhade told her as she started kissing him gently on his crest and jawline. He sunk down into the furs with her now in his lap, enjoying the attention she was giving him.

"Kujhade? I need to take a shower," Jasmine said as she eased herself off of his lap. He very reluctantly let her go. He certainly understood needing to refresh after being away from wherever you called home.

Jasmine looked at him seductively as she sauntered to the bathing area, dropping her ragged clothes to the floor as she went. He watched her hips sway, and the cheeks of her ample bottom rise and fall with each step. He rose out of his bedding to follow her, almost hypnotized by the way she kept looking back at him and smiling, and beckoning him with a crooked finger.

She stepped in front of the column, and was greeted by the fine spray of hot water. The soap she used was still there as well as the towel. She threw the towel over her shoulder, opting for just the small bar of soap. Kujhade stood and watched as she rubbed the soap over every part of her body, paying special attention to her breasts, looking at him as she lathered herself. Without taking his eyes off her, he undid his loin cloth letting it drop to the floor, his leather straps went next, and his codpiece last. It clattered loudly on the hard floor as he strode over to her, joining her under the running water.

Instantly her hands were all over him, his chest, his shoulders, fingers tracing the fine details of his abs, and ghosting down his Adonis belt. Kujhade was not yet at his fullest attention, but he was getting there and he was already larger than any man Jasmine had ever seen. Her heart did an extra couple of beats at the sight of it, but she was determined to see this thing through. They had done so much teasing of each other, most of it her fault, and she couldn't take another sensual situation without the happy ending.

Kujhade growled low in his chest, as she caressed him, the soap providing slip so that her hands glided everywhere. He was hot to the touch, much warmer than he usually was which was saying a lot. The green places on his body were turning an even darker shade, and the cream colored parts seemed to glow a little brighter. It was a subtle change, but her eyes missed nothing as she drank him in. His hands also found themselves all over her, and he didn't miss a single inch of her body. It was clearly no mere inspection now, as he gripped and grabbed and groped her, all the while purring and growling alternately. Jasmine's body was responding to his every touch. The delicious feel of his rough, textured and sometimes pebbly skin, gliding over her smooth, soft body.

Kujhade leaned his head down, grazing against her shoulder with his mandibles splayed and lightly scratching her as he moved down lower. She desperately wanted him to kiss her, and kept being disappointed with the realization that it wasn't possible. With a mouth like that, the only thing he could do was bite her, which she was becoming suspicious about. Part of that thought scared her, as there was literally no part of his body that he couldn't hurt her with. She noticed that he slowly sank to his knees before her, the water pouring over his shoulders and back, the droplets glistening off his tendrils. He had a hand on each of her thighs, as he insisted she part her legs. Jasmine did so, but became a little nervous. She didn't know if he knew anything about oral sex, but he seemed in position to try it. Jazzy watched him intently, thinking he shouldn't get that close to her sex with a mouth like that, but he didn't seem like he wanted to bite her, at least not there. She jumped a little as his mandibles suddenly flared out and he opened his inner mouth. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back a little. Despite not having a nose, he nevertheless appeared to be smelling or sniffing her. He was scenting her. That's the word that kept coming to her mind. Scenting. All at once she was glad she was in the shower and had washed herself before he had the opportunity to do this.

Jazzy could barely see his eyes being the lens of his visor, but she knew he was looking up at her. He was on his knees in front of her, mouth wide open, head tilted back, and hands locked firmly around the front of her thighs keeping her from closing her legs, and he was waiting. On what she didn't know, so she awkwardly waited as well. Long seconds passed as neither of them did anything. Not wanting the moment to pass, Jasmine decided to speak up first.

"What is it, Kujhade? What are you waiting for?" She asked, as she looked into his alien face. She was getting used to it. So much so that she was beginning to find his brand of beauty in it.

"Permission," he said simply, and closed his eyes taking another deep breath of her.

He was waiting on her to verbally tell him that it was okay to have sex. This large male who could have taken her by force a million times, was asking her for permission. The thought of it melted her heart. She smiled so brightly that she thought her face would split. She rubbed her hands over his crest and down his dreads, taking two handfuls making him purr loudly.

"Yes Kujhade," she said as she kneeled down with him, her hands caressing his hair. "Take me."

That was all he was waiting on. It had been more than a few years since he had last mated. She was a beautiful ten foot tall female, with large breasts, and the best coloring. It took his best effort to subdue her, having to really use a lot of force to bind her hands and pin her down. After a very brief struggle on her part, and a lot of loud roaring and posturing on his part, he soon had her howling and panting in pleasure. He would do ten times that for his human mate. He wanted to make her howl and pant, and he wanted to show her that he had the stamina to perform for hours on end, if that was what she needed. He didn't think he needed to use as much force for Jasmine considering how small she was, but he could only do what instinct dictated.

Her scent, so sweet and inviting had clouded most of his reasoning and logic. Kujhade was now acting only on his basest nature as he suddenly grabbed Jasmine and spun her around with her back now facing him. She let out a surprised yelp, as she found a large clawed hand suddenly around the back of her neck. He pulled her back roughly and gave a single loud roar before burying all four tusks in her shoulder. He buried them until his inner mouth could bite, releasing the mild venom that his kind produced while mating. It served to numb the pain as well as stimulate the female and convince her to submit. He withdrew his tusks, allowing his saliva to continue to act as a balm to the new wound. With another husky roar, he placed a large palm on the middle of her back, forcing her face down with the other hand firmly around her waist to hoist her backside up. She yelled out, in pleasure and anticipation he assumed, as he took the hand from her back and grabbed one of her arms, pinning it behind her. She yelled out again and began to struggle, but Kujhade was overtaken by his lust and the fact that he was about to mate. Desperately he positioned himself behind her, seeking entry, and that's when it happened. The sweet scent of her sex and desire, rapidly transformed into the musty acrid stench of fear. A smell he only enjoyed while on the hunt. Kujhade stopped all his movement, as Jasmine shook violently in his grasp.

The drain. This time the water was running instead of just a few droplets here and there. She was eye to eye with it, as the hot water ran under her cheek, her tears falling and mingling with it. Jasmine couldn't understand what was happening. One minute Kujhade and her were all sexy time in the shower, and the next she was about to be raped. This was rape. She knew all about it. Sure she had just given her consent….to sex. Not this brutalization that was happening right now. He'd bitten her. The pain was excruciating. It was like being stabbed with four short daggers all at once. As if it took the thought to conjure it, the blood from her shoulder ran with the water, swirling its way down the drain. She felt his claws dig into her hips as he pulled her bottom up until she was on her knees. Distantly she could hear him grunt and roar behind her. Time seemed to slow down, the water droplets almost freezing in mid-stream. Her eyelids felt like cement blocks as she struggled to blink them. When she opened them again, she was inexplicably back in her old kitchen, the counter top digging into her firm stomach. She was pinned and a monster was behind her, grunting and having its way with her. Jasmine was fifteen all over again. She could even smell the turkey meat on the sandwich that lay innocently on the countertop waiting for her to finish being violated, so that she could eat it.

Her first impulse was to endure it. Just be still and accept what seemed destined for her at every turn. He was bigger than her, stronger than her, was probably going to kill her after seeming to be so nice to her. Maybe he would kill her while he screwed her. It wasn't that strange and unheard of. Hell, the animal kingdom was rife with such things. Didn't praying mantises eat their man as he climaxed? And she could have sworn black widow spiders did too. Maybe the universe was just playing a very cruel, unfunny joke on her. Here let's show Jasmine some kindness, have a male act like he gives two shits what happens to her, then WHAM! Snatch it all away in an instant. Let's see how she handles that! Her eyes moved painstakingly upwards, where her mother was standing across the room, shaking her head, and then turning it. No, she couldn't do this again. When she felt him up against her, searching for her opening she started to really struggle. She didn't want to be a victim anymore. She didn't want to have one more thing that she was guilty or ashamed about hanging over her head. She was tired of just taking it, letting shit happen to her and telling herself she would deal with it later. Only for her never to really deal with any of it, and just bury it all deep inside where it took shape within its own chrysalis of pain, only to have it emerge as a self-destructive butterfly devoid of all beauty. Things weren't going to right themselves. She'd lived in that delusion long enough. That delusion was why her mother could show up in the form of a phantasm, and talk shit to her. That delusion was why she'd gotten on drugs, and became homeless, and turned into a prostitute, and made a million and one shitty ass decisions one after another. It erupted from her like an ancient battle cry, and maybe that's what it was. It was certainly time to fight, so a battle cry would be befitting.

"NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"NNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

It came up from her toes, rattled in her backbone, clenched her stomach muscles, and ripped her throat raw as it reverberated through the room. Angry, hurt tears ran hotly down her cheeks as she flailed her free arm in an attempt to get up. He was as still as a statue. He had stopped trying to have sex with her. In fact he had stopped trying to do anything. Suddenly, the weight lifted off of her as it had so many years ago. Only this time instead of the bitter taste of defeat and disgust, she felt only anger and the need to fight.

Kujhade was stunned into still silence. She had given her express consent, and now he was being thoroughly and resoundingly rejected. In his culture, no matter how far into mating you were, if a female decided you were no longer welcome to her womb she could reject you. The only difference is that a female of his kind had the physical power to make a male stop, under pain of death. This was especially so if he had not properly subdued her in the first place. But Kujhade had done his job. The fog of lust was clearing, as her screams cut neatly through it. He looked down at his handiwork and it was good. He had bitten her to mark her, he had subdued her without killing or maiming her, and he had positioned himself for proper mating. Yet, here Jasmine was shaking, crying, and screaming her rejection of him as her mate. Kujhade eased back, releasing her from the iron grip around her arm and waist. As soon as he did Jasmine scrambled away on her hands and knees, slipping on the wet floor. She got up and ran to her room and shut the door behind her.

He was still on his knees as the water from the shower petered out. He was completely confused by her reaction. He had prepared himself mentally for the fact that she was accustomed to different mating rituals, but he never thought that she would reject him as vehemently as she had just done. He removed his visor, sending it skittering across the smooth metal floor. It all came flooding back to him, no matter how he fought it. Rejected by almost every member of his clan, especially the females. Suddenly he recalled the first time he had laid eyes on his second pup, and the gut wrenching feeling of failure, as he gazed upon a suckling that took after him in every way. Knowing it was doomed to die, he willed it to survive as he had done, but it was not to be. He waited for word for exactly one year, but his pup was dead. It was culture. The mother had done what was expected of her, and he held her blameless. It was tradition, it had been lived by for centuries beyond his reckoning and would be lived by centuries after the Black Hunter claimed him. Through all of that, the loss of his progeny was still the loss of his progeny.

He had pinned his hopes on Jasmine, but now that too had been only a fool's errand. She too had rejected him, after showing and telling him that she would accept him. After showing him that his abnormal coloring was nothing to her. Kujhade couldn't help but let loose a frustrated roar that rattled the very walls of his domain.

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah, I know. I ain't no Earthly good for that am I? Poor little Kujhade, can't win for losing. Don't worry about him though. They'll get it together, I promise.**


	15. Lessons Learned

"Both of them are gone?! By whose orders?!" Mar'cte bellowed. He had one of the medics by the throat, lifting the small yautja off the floor slightly in his anger and confusion.

"U'darajhe…came…took…them," the medic choked out.

"And?" Mar'cte growled bringing him almost face to face, and squeezed his throat a little tighter.

"Said it was….Bakuub's…orders….." the medic managed. Mar'cte dropped him and turned to leave. The medic rubbed his throat, all the while casting a hateful look at Mar'cte's back.

Mar'cte didn't believe that for a minute. Sure that may have been what the medic was told, but U'darajhe was a liar. He would ask Bakuub just to be certain, but afterwards he was going to finish what Kujhade had started. U'darajhe was as good as dead as far as he was concerned.

Mar'cte wasn't in love with the human women he picked. He liked them well enough, but he wasn't in love with them. Getting revenge for their apparent kidnapping was more about the principle of the matter. The women belonged to Mar'cte. Everyone on the ship knew that they belonged to Mar'cte. To take them and do Paya knows what with them, was a direct affront to his ownership and his pride as a male. It couldn't go unaddressed, not even slightly. If U'darajhe could produce his women, unspoiled, then he could receive only a beating. If not, Mar'cte could challenge him to a fight to the death, and that would be the end of it. As he stormed around the ship, collaring every other yautja he ran across, and questioning them as to Bakuub's whereabouts, part of Mar'cte wanted U'darajhe to have done something to those females. He didn't so much want the women to be hurt as he wanted an excuse to get rid of U'darajhe. He was an irritant, constantly in every other yautja's business, and generally made himself a nuisance. In Mar'cte's opinion, he had all the makings of a bad blood, and he wouldn't be surprised if eventually that became the case. Might already be the case.

Mar'cte searched all around, but never located Bakuub. It really didn't matter. He was fine with taking matters into his own hands. He had reached the main control and bridge, having still not found the clan leader. With a frustrated growl, Mar'cte turned around to look for U'darajhe instead. He would question the guards first. Surely they would have some information, and if they didn't want to talk, he would threaten them with bodily harm. Very simple stuff. The only question in Mar'cte's mind at the moment, was whether or not to notify Kujhade of this before or after he beat U'darajhe to within an inch of his pathetic, semi bad blooded life.

* * *

 _(Three Days Later)_

Jasmine hadn't come out of her room since the shower fiasco. Kujhade had tried to talk to her, but she didn't feel like responding. At first she was angry. Just angry in general at everything and everybody. After she'd had a night to sleep on it, she decided that maybe it wasn't his fault. Also, she wasn't quite as angry. After the next day in the seclusion of her room, she simply hadn't wanted to face him.

Kujhade had made every effort to communicate. He'd brought food, he'd searched for some old clothes and left them for her, he'd tried to talk through the door, but Jasmine just couldn't. She really wanted to. She didn't want to be angry, or to sulk, or to wallow in self-pity, but she didn't know how to break the cycle.

She was sitting against the wall with her knees hugged to her when she heard a woman's voice outside her door.

"Sweet meat, you in there?" The voice called, followed by a short series of little knocks.

"Brenda?" Jasmine asked, rising to her feet.

"Yeah, it's me girl. Open up. What're you doin' in there all cooped up? I thought you would've had enough of being in a damn cell," Brenda chided gently.

Jasmine walked over and opened the door. The tall blonde looked better and better every time Jasmine saw her. Her hair had grown and was healthy, and she'd put on a bit of weight that looked good around her hips and thighs. She came on in, took a quick look around, and then looked at Jasmine.

"I've been encouraged to come up here to talk to you sweet meat. What's going on with you?" Brenda said, taking a seat on the floor next to Jasmine, who had also sat back down on the floor.

"How did you know anything was going on? Don't tell me Kujhade came to get you," Jasmine queried suspiciously. Kujhade struck her as private, so she had a hard time believing he would have told anyone about what had happened.

"No, hell no. Actually I wanted to come see you after me and Mar'cte noticed how withdrawn he was. Well, Mar'cte noticed and told me whatever was happening probably had something to do with you. So when he said that, I came up here to see," Brenda explained.

"Okay, back up. Since when did you and Mar'cte become a thing? And I thought he had two women? You're the third?" Jasmine asked, thoroughly confused. How long had she been in here sulking?

"Girl, that's a long story, but the short version is that that stupid bastard that tried to rape you, took Mar'cte's women. He's been looking high and low for his ass, but U'darajhe isn't on the ship anymore, and supposedly no one knows where he is. So one thing led to another and blah, blah, Mar'cte wanted me blah, so here I am," Brenda said, a small smile on her face.

"Oh, I've been missing out then," Jasmine said, looking at her hands which were folded around her knees again.

"What happened sweet meat? That male of yours has been walking around here like the world came to an end," Brenda said, waiting patiently for Jasmine to answer.

"I fucked up Brenda, big time," and hearing it out loud made her feel even more stupid. When the blonde said nothing, Jasmine took that as her cue to keep talking.

"A couple of days ago we were gonna finally have sex. We came up here, we got in the shower, and we started feeling on each other, kissing, you know, that kind of shit," Jasmine said, as she rubbed her clammy palms on her bare knees. She hadn't bothered putting on the clothes he'd brought her. She was just wrapped up in the furs that were already in her room.

"We were on the floor. He asked for permission Brenda. Permission to have sex with me," Jasmine said, turning her head to look Brenda in the face. "It was the sweetest thing, and I thought we would have this world shattering sex, but then…" Jasmine trailed off, just watching her hands as she interlaced her fingers, then undid them.

"Go on," Brenda encouraged.

"Then he bit me, he spun me around and he held me down hard. He twisted my arm around my back, and then I guess I just lost it. I couldn't stand it. I thought he was gonna rape me Brenda, and I…I just… oh god," Jasmine said, as she covered her face in her hands. Her voice faltered as she tried not to break down again. Brenda rubbed consoling circles on her back, as she tried to keep herself together.

"Something happened to you, something bad, didn't it sweet meat?" Brenda asked knowing instinctively that it had. She felt sorry for Jasmine. She had to have been raped at some point, probably brutally. Maybe it was a bad pimp or whatever, and really it didn't matter did it? This girl was young, and it must have been terrible. Brenda had been on the streets long enough to have been in her fair share of scary situations, including being raped at knife point. Jasmine nodded her head, hoping that Brenda wouldn't ask for the details.

"Well, I tell you what. If whatever you went through contributed to you fucking up with your man, then you need to tell him about it, then you need to let that shit go sweet meat. It's not worth it girl. I never would have believed it unless I'd seen it, but my guess is that he loves you," Brenda said to Jasmine's surprise. Jazzy looked at her in shock.

"He doesn't love me Brenda. I mean, he's cool I guess and he was being nice, but that doesn't mean he loves me," Jasmine said, more to convince herself that it wasn't true. "Especially after he attacked me like that…"

"Listen to me Jasmine," Brenda said with a sterner voice. She turned Jasmine around by her shoulders until they were facing each other. "He was just doing what he knows to do. I know it's harsh and it's foreign, but he would never try to hurt you. They're just different. If you want him to behave another way you have to tell him, teach him, but you gotta be honest with him and with yourself. Whatever some scumbag fucker did to you is in the past, so don't let it fuck up what you've got now. Do you hear me?"

Jasmine stared at her friend for a moment, before she dropped her eyes. Brenda was right. After all Kujhade was an alien, so it wasn't fair to expect him to do things like a human man would. She nodded her understanding.

"So stop sitting in here like a lost fucking cause, and go get your man sweet meat!" Brenda said, getting up and pulling Jasmine to her feet.

"Fix your hair and all that, and go talk to him," Brenda said, smiling as she swatted Jasmine on her butt. Jasmine yelped and covered her butt with one hand as she scooted out of the room to go freshen up.

"Okay okay!" Jazzy said, feeling better and determined to make things right with Kujhade. She turned to the blonde before she could leave.

"Thanks Brenda, I needed that," she told her and gave her a huge hug.

"I told you we gotta stick together right? I'm here for anything you need. Mar'cte's place is right below this one actually so you can stop by sometimes. Okay, I'm outta here Jazz," Brenda said, turning to leave.

Just as she did, Kujhade was entering. He was shocked to see Brenda there, but simply gave her a nod and allowed her to leave. He heard the water going in the bathing area, but waited patiently for Jasmine to come out. When she did, she just stopped as they stared at each other, not saying anything. This was the first time they'd laid eyes on each other since the incident. Kujhade clicked his mandibles shut tightly and proceeded to move towards Jasmine's room. He went in and removed her things, placing them near the front entrance.

"Kujhade, what are you doing?" Jasmine asked in confusion although a sinking feeling in her stomach told her what this was.

"You have rejected me as your mate. Since that is the case, I am releasing you. You may go where the other women are. I no longer claim you," Kujhade said looking at her directly.

Without warning, Jasmine's heart fell to her toes. He was serious. He was putting her out. No, he was breaking up with her. This was much more serious than she thought. All of a sudden she realized that she didn't want to be let go, she didn't want to be discarded, and she didn't want to be without him. Jasmine moved towards him slowly, her hands clasped in front of her under her chin like a child, her eyes wide and shiny.

"Kujhade…please…" she said but he whirled around to face her with a low growl when she got too close. She stepped back a pace.

"No! You have made your decision. You shouted your rejection of me for the entire ship to hear, and now you will at least have the honor to stand by it!" Kujhade roared at her.

She dared to come a little closer despite his warning, and when she moved, the fur she was wearing shifted to reveal the mark he'd given her. Kujhade paused, his eyes lingering there. His feelings threatened to change his mind, but he fought it. One of them had to make a decision and be firm, and she obviously couldn't do that so he had to. Jasmine saw how he looked at the bite mark that was still a little sore even now. She pulled the fur she had wrapped around her down, revealing it in its entirety. She needed to take a chance, to fight for once rather than just roll over and take it.

"Is this how you marked me? Does this mean I belong to you?" Jasmine asked, not sure where she was going with it, but needed to hear what he would say. Kujhade shifted his eyes away, setting his jaw against the sight.

"Yes, but I can give you something to heal it. To make it go away," he said firmly.

"What if I don't want it to go away? What if I wanna be yours?" Jasmine said, taking another step towards him until she was within arm's reach. Kujhade looked at her in wide eyed shock that turned into another growl.

"You are full of games and tricks! You gave me your consent, and then you took it away and rejected me firmly. So there is no way that you…"

"YOU SCARED ME!" Jasmine screamed to get his attention. Cutting him off mid-sentence, and making him go silent. His chest heaving with frustration and building anger.

"You bit me, and you hurt me, and you scared me, and I didn't know what to do!" Jasmine yelled again but not so loudly. She stepped even closer. She tried to rest her hands on his chest, but he stepped back. Determined, she reached again and this time he allowed her to touch him.

"I thought…I thought you were going to rape me," she admitted, surprised at the look of disgust she got in response.

"So that is what you think of me? That I am some bad blood that would force you to mate with me? Have I shown you that much dishonor?" Kujhade asked, and she could tell by his tone that he was highly insulted.

"No! No, I don't think you're bad Kujhade. It's just that well, someone has done that to me before…and how you wanted to…well, how rough you were it…just…reminded me of that," she said, her voice getting smaller and smaller as she hung her head lower at the partial admission.

Kujhade was completely taken aback by what she was telling him. At some point in time a human bad blood had force mated with her. She'd called it 'rape' and obviously it was traumatic for her. He had only been doing what he knew how to do, but upon reflection maybe he had been too harsh, or exerted too much force. When he looked down at her, he could sense that she was ashamed. Her head was down and she wasn't doing or saying anything.

Suddenly, she felt a gentle hand cup her chin and lift her head. When she looked into Kujhade's eyes, she could see that concern had replaced anger, and her heart melted again. Could Brenda have been right about how Kujhade felt? It certainly seemed plausible.

"Tell me," Kujhade demanded, and Jasmine did.

She told him about how she was only fifteen years old and a virgin. She told him that it was her step-father, and explained what that was to him. She told him about the sink, and the drain, and the droplets of water, and the pain, and being pinned down, and feeling helpless to stop it. She explained how her mother didn't believe her, and had grown to hate her instead of protect her. She told him about how it went on and on, until he got caught up with drugs and police, and eventually served time in prison. Jasmine even told him about the shame and guilt she'd carried around ever since. She didn't know if he even understood that part, but she felt better for having gotten it off her chest. She would never forget it. It was as much a part of her as her hair, her skin, and her soul, but that didn't mean that it had to ruin her life more than she had allowed it to already. She had to find the strength to move on, and she had made up her mind that she would start right now.

"I'm sorry Kujhade. I never meant to reject you, or hurt you," Jasmine said looking up at him. He wasn't looking at her. His gaze was cast out past the panoramic window into space. He clicked his tusks together absently as if in deep thought.

The seconds stretched on, and after he did not speak Jasmine moved in order to leave. Maybe he hadn't accepted her apology. Just as she was about to break contact, Kujhade snaked his arm around her and pressed her to himself. He stared into her face a long time before putting his visor on. He needed to see her actual facial expression.

They stood there, him holding her with one arm as he stared in her eyes. She with both palms flat against his broad chest, trying to read his face.

"It was my method of mating that you were rejecting, and not me as your mate?" He asked. She realized that despite his flat no nonsense tone that he was looking for reassurance from her.

"I promise that's all it was Kujhade. I was just frightened at the time," she told him, eager for him to understand. He nodded slightly. After another thoughtful pause he spoke again.

"Are you certain that you wish to be mated to me?" Kujhade questioned. Jasmine nodded emphatically.

"When you put my stuff by the door, it was like wow he's breaking up with me. I didn't wanna lose you. I _don't_ wanna lose you Kujhade," Jasmine said, trying to wrap her arms around him as best she could.

Her heart was thumping in her chest, and she wanted to cry. It was all such an emotional rollercoaster these last few days, but she refused to shed tears. Instead she buried her face in his hard chest, and tried a smile instead. It felt odd on her face but she refused to frown and cry and be a lost fucking cause like Brenda said.

A talon lightly traced the outline of the mark on her shoulder.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I just wanted to let everyone know you were mine," Kujhade said softly in his deep rumbling voice.

"Am I? Am I still yours?" She asked, staring up at him through her lashes, eyes pleading.

"Yessss," he hissed out in English.

Suddenly he grabbed her hand and placed his large one inside her small one. He wanted her to lead him around like he did to her.

"Teach me your mating ritual. I want to learn it," Kujhade said, almost purring it.

"Okay," Jasmine answered and she began to back up towards his bed.

They stepped down into the furs together. Jasmine motioned for him to sit down, which he obeyed almost eagerly. Jasmine stepped over him, and lowered herself into his lap slowly. He kept his hands down, not really sure what to do since following his own mating rituals frightened her. Jasmine grabbed his head in her hands and stared into his eyes, which were covered with the thin lenses of his visor.

"Kujhade, I don't know what you all do as far as sex is concerned, but if what you did was any indication, then I want you to know you don't have to do that with me, okay?" Jasmine asked as she stroked his tendrils, earning her a long purr and a nod.

"You don't have to fight me for something I want so badly to give you Kujhade," she said continuing to slowly stroke his hair which seemed to be very erotic and arousing for him. He purred a little louder at her words as much as what she was doing to his hair.

Jasmine began kissing all over the crest of his head, one of her favorite parts of him to kiss.

"Touch me," she sighed and immediately his hands were all over her.

He gingerly caressed the bite mark with his finger. She winced just a little, but otherwise let him continue to touch it. He then reached around to grab a large handful of her butt, something he'd been wanting to do again since the shower. She moaned, a wonderful sound to him and he wanted to hear it over and over. Jasmine leaned back to unwrap herself from the pelts she was partially covered in. She tossed them to the side and leaned back into him, kissing him all over his face and mouth. She broke contact and eased herself off of him, much to his dismay. So much so that he actually growled a little at her for moving.

"I just want you to take this off," she said, tapping her finger on his codpiece.

It was off and thrown forcefully across the room before she could blink twice, and his arms were back around her, pulling her in close. He was at full mast beneath her, and as she kissed down his jawline, past his neck, and on to his wide shoulders, he started to grind against her. His hands gripped around her hips, bringing her forcefully down without entering her. Jasmine moaned into his chest as she trailed kisses and licks all over it. He was delicious and she could smell that very masculine scent he made. The one that smelled spicy but that she had no point of reference for. She was as hot and ready as she had ever been, and he opened his tucks and mouth to breathe her in. He brought his hands up and cupped her breasts, groping and grabbing everywhere with more and more confidence.

Slowly, Jasmine began to rock her hips, and he responded in kind. It was just like when she was in her cell, only this time there were no pesky clothes to get in their way. She could feel every part of him, and it was strange, and magical, and wonderful in every single way. Jasmine was panting and breathing heavily, as she rocked her hips more insistently. He was meeting her every movement with perfect timing, doing his best to follow her lead and keep his composure. He was learning, not teaching, and he was determined to be a good student. This was a lesson in patience more than anything. Jasmine was going slowly, pacing him, making him wait for the right time, and this was very new to him, but somehow he managed to relax. She wasn't going anywhere. Now that they had an understanding, she wasn't going to get up and leave him frustrated, confused, and worst of all unfulfilled.

Kujhade had closed his eyes, reveling in the attention she was focusing on his chest, his stomach, back up to his arms, his shoulders, even his collarbone. Then she would trail that wonderfully soft mouth of hers back up to his face, even taking a lower tusk into her mouth and suckling it. A weird but oh so wonderful thing for her to do, and for him to feel. She never once stopped touching his hair, and that was driving him crazier than almost anything else she was doing. He'd gotten so lost in how she was moaning and kissing him, that he hadn't noticed her rise a little bit. It was only until she lowered herself again that his eyes nearly fell out of their sockets at the realization of what she'd done. Kujhade let out a choked half-roar, half-growl that got ultimately caught in his throat. The feeling was intense, much more intense than he remembered. Jasmine had accepted him completely, the only tell-tale sign was the way her eyes were shut tightly and she was biting her bottom lip. Also, she had stopped rocking her hips. She was sitting there not moving, and instinctively he did the same. He was still following her lead, not wanting to do anything that would disrupt this most excellent lesson in her mating rituals.

Finally she opened her eyes and looked directly into his. He saw there a beautiful look of intensity in her that he loved. It was the look of a hunter when they had set the trap, and this was the penultimate moment before the kill. Before he even knew what he was doing, he had grabbed her by her hips and pushed upwards to meet them. Jasmine threw her head back, closed her eyes, and called out his name. She was almost singing it. It was like a current of electricity went through her each time he made even the slightest movement. Once he saw that she wasn't going to stop him, Kujhade picked up steam and speed.

"Slow down….I'm not going anywhere," she sighed breathlessly in his ear and he instantly obeyed.

He had to keep reminding himself that he was not with a female of his own kind. Jasmine wasn't demanding that he finish as quickly as possible. This was no mere rutting, going as fast as he could just to give away his seed. This was something else. What they were doing now far exceeded his expectation of what it should have been. What they were doing, what she was allowing him to do, what she was now begging him to do, was doing something in his heart. Before, he hadn't understood the purpose of life mating. If you were young and a healthy successful hunter, there was no need to restrict yourself to a single mate. But all of that was gone. He knew that what they shared now, he never wanted to be without. Jasmine was going to be his life mate, and that was the final word in his mind. He couldn't believe that he was so close to making one of the absolute dumbest mistakes of his life. He was going to send her away. He was going to let some other male have this from her. The thought of her with another male, made him drive harder, faster, better.

Jasmine was moaning and panting his name, writhing in his lap, a thing unheard of. Mating was done from behind, with nary a look into the females face, let alone look at every part of her body, committing it to memory. With Jasmine everything was different. He wrapped her tightly in his arms, as he continued his slow, languid pace.

Jasmine had never experienced this before. Sure she'd had sex plenty of times, but this wasn't just sex. Jasmine realized that she was being made love to. This massive male, which only a few days ago had frightened her so badly that she'd run off screaming, was making slow love to her. He was paying attention to details, he wasn't clawing her, and he wasn't hitting her or calling her a bitch. He was holding her close to him, he was purring in her ear, and he was going slowly as if he cared that she enjoyed it also. Jasmine couldn't remember a single sexual encounter before this in which she didn't feel like the world's slimiest sub-human, both during and after the act. She wasn't being humiliated or degraded. In fact she was being uplifted, and cherished, taken care of, and loved. Her pleasure was intensified by the way his hands were so rough, yet he was trying so very hard to be as gentle as possible. He kept looking at her for cues, for any signs that she wanted him to stop, or that this was somehow undesirable. What he couldn't know was that she never wanted him to stop. Each movement, every stroke was bringing her to such dizzying heights of ecstasy, that she was actually afraid of the crash. His purring was vibrating from him all the way to the very core of her body. She had never felt anything like it in her life.

Kujhade grazed her shoulder again with his tusks, looking at her as he did so. Realizing what he wanted, Jasmine turned her head and offered it to him. He surprised her by not biting, but snaking his tongue out in order to lick the healing wound. It was soothed almost instantly by his licking, which was somehow numbing the dull ache there. Jasmine let out a long moan, and laid her head on his shoulder, her climax almost upon her no matter how she tried to keep it at bay. Just on a whim she sucked one of his tendrils into her mouth. He let out a mighty roar, as his hips snapped up a final time. He'd gone over the edge, the sight of it sending her as well. She shivered, shook, whimpered, called his name, and ground down on him, with everything she had as they climaxed together repeatedly.

Exhausted, Jasmine lay in his embrace for what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes. While still joined, Kujhade lay them both down. He maintained his position until he was sure his seed had a chance to take hold. Jasmine was already falling into a deep sleep when he pulled the furs over them, positioning them so that she lay atop him.

For a long while after she had drifted off, he stroked her hair gently and purred low, careful not to wake her. He thought about the life mating ceremony that he needed to ask the clan leader to preside over for him. Kujhade smiled as he gazed upon Jasmine's sleeping form. He had come so stupidly close to letting her go. He held her just a little bit tighter in his arms. He would never even consider it again as long as they both still lived.


	16. Trophy

What passed for morning came to the sleeping couple, who were just now stirring. Hours had passed as Jasmine and Kujhade slept, limbs intertwined, breathing in perfect sync, and soft piles of pelts and thick furs all around them. Jasmine stirred, lifting her head just a bit, eyelids fluttering open to find Kujhade's leaf green gaze settled upon her. She never got enough of looking into those eyes, the most human thing set into such a strange face. A face she was coming more and more to think of as handsome along with the rest of him.

"Morning beautiful," Jasmine said with a smile. She remembered what knocked her out.

Kujhade raised a thorny brow ridge, then rolled his eyes incredulously. At first Jasmine was going to protest, until his lower tusks raised in a half grin, and he looked at her again, holding her a little tighter. She swatted his unforgivingly hard chest playfully, as she kissed it then leaned up a bit to kiss right under his chin.

"Shower then food?" Jasmine asked hopefully. She was always hungry and he was feeding her well. She'd have to watch her figure now.

"Bathe now, yes. Then train. Food later," he said, trying to hide his amusement at her pouting face.

"But babyyy," she tried to whine. "Please let me eat first? I'll do my best in training today," Jazzy pleaded, batting her eyes innocently. Kujhade was unphased.

"You will do your best because I will not accept anything less," he said as he eased her off of himself. He resisted the urge to plant himself firmly within her again.

"Whatever," she mumbled as she rolled her eyes and got up, heading for the bathroom.

Kujhade rose to his feet to follow her, leaving his visor behind. He liked looking at her with color, but it was starting to bother his eyes not seeing things in his own spectrum. He let out a rumbling purr as he made his way to Jasmine, who was standing under the warm spray of water. She turned to him smiling, dimples on display, and hazel eyes sparkling. The purr immediately set her mind to other things as he stepped into the shower with her. With much more confidence he wrapped his arms around her, and lifted her up. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his middle.

He loved this business of not having to tussle or fight or wrestle her for sex. She was a willing participant in every aspect, and he found himself really enjoying the idea of mating. It was now more than something that he was driven or expected to do. He was free of the encumbering rules of his culture, where it mattered little if anyone enjoyed it, so long as the act resulted in strong offspring. Jasmine never even mentioned pups, or pregnancy, or his seed. Nor did she struggle physically against him. She was relaxed, the sweet scent of her arousal came easily, and she seemed as eager for him as he was for her. Lastly, but certainly not least, he was realizing that Jasmine was not inexperienced. It almost shamed him to know that she was much more experienced in this area than he was. He noticed that she never wilted or shied away, and she didn't just keep still, she was very active. She met his thrusts more often than not, and she urged him on either through word or deed. He even heard her growl low a few times, which surprised and excited him. Just like mating with a yautja female, but without all the posturing and fear for his safety.

He rolled his hips, snapping them against her in a quick hard pace that had her hissing and growling and moaning by turns. It was all music to his ears, as he complied with every demand she gritted out through her clenched teeth. Go faster, harder, just like that. She ended up twisting a few strands of his hair between her fingers and that was it. Kujhade roared and released, as she cried out and did the same. All the while he never even paused. He just powered through his own climax, enjoying the way she kept pace with him, giving almost as good as she got. He kept going, releasing at least two more times before her body went limp with exhaustion, a wan smile on her face. He supported her with a solid arm wrapped around her, helping her finish actually washing herself and towel off.

"I win lover boy," Jasmine joked as she slowly put on the clothes he had found for her. It was a turquoise pair of tightly fitting jogging pants that were too small, so they ended up hugging her hips and butt. He'd also found her another tank top, this one red, which she didn't mind. It was never cold on the ship, even when she walked around just out of a shower.

"What did you win? We played no game," he queried, trying to figure out what she thought was so funny.

"Now you _have_ to feed me. I can't be expected to train under these conditions," she said, smiling brightly as she watched the joke dawn on his face. He lifted his tusks in a crooked smile.

"A clever trick my mate. I will feed you, but you will not get out of the training," he told her, always enjoying the way she would playfully poke out her bottom lip in mock disappointment.

After she got dressed, he held his hand out for her to grab.

"I thought we were eating first?" Jasmine asked, a little confused.

"We are, but first there is something I want to show you," Kujhade said, grabbing her gently by the wrist and leading her to a room just off where they sat to eat.

It was the room that Jasmine had deftly avoided. She knew what he did for a living she guessed, but that still didn't make her want to see the results. They stood at the door, with Kujhade looking at her, gauging her reaction. When she made no protest, he unlocked the door and it slid to the side to reveal a much bigger room than Jasmine thought it would be. Kujhade stepped in first, leading her inside and at once she could feel what this was for him. For Kujhade this place was special. He approached it with respect, and that encouraged her to do the same. With her wrist still in his hand, Jasmine crossed the threshold into Kujhade's trophy room. At once she was stricken by how extremely clean it was. She was expecting it to be like a morgue or a funeral home, but it was more like a museum with a twist. It had almost a spiritual quality that she could feel. Not like a church, but more like she was walking on sacred ground.

It was cooler in this room than the rest of his quarters, and there was a strange mist all about the floors, that moved ahead of her with each step that she took. The air had that clinical scent, like a freshly scrubbed hospital. The room was the size of at least a medium sized one bedroom apartment, and not the tiny ones that she was used to back in New York. In the middle of the room was a lone pedestal style table, which she realized was not a completely flat surface. On one side was a small sink with a drain and a spray nozzle attached at the table's side. The other side of the table was flat and smooth, and when Kujhade pressed a panel she didn't see, a tray of strange looking tools and brushes slid out from underneath it.

All along the walls from the floor to the ceiling were his trophies. Kujhade let her wrist go, and watched her reaction intently. Jasmine looked back at him, half asking permission to look and half not wanting to look at all. He gave her the slightest of nods, and Jasmine thought she could see a tinge of apprehension in his eyes. She turned her attentions to the wall nearest her on her left. Before her sat the largest skull of anything she'd ever laid eyes on. It looked almost like some sort of dinosaur, but she doubted that any dinosaur had as many eyes as this thing had eye sockets. He had several of these skulls all mounted one above the other. As she looked around she saw many trophies, all of them the skulls of something, either with or without the spines attached. As she moved around to the right she saw skulls that were elongated, sort of like the thing she saw in the storage area only much, much longer. The woman alien thing had only had a bigger head than normal, but not like this. The facial structure gave it away more than anything. Jasmine was pointing to it when she turned to look at Kujhade in awe.

"Kiande amedha," he said almost reverently, his baritone floating to her in a hushed tone.

"Hard meat," she repeated quietly to herself. Something about that thing was disturbing.

Above those skulls was another similar to it, but much larger. She turned again in silent question, pointing up to it.

"Hard meat queen. Very difficult to kill," Kujhade said, unable to hide the pride in his voice at the accomplishment.

"Wow," she said to herself in true awe. She didn't know exactly what these things were capable of, but if Kujhade had managed to kill the queen of them, then that had to be a super big deal.

Casting a few more looks at the queen's skull, she made her way around the room until she got to the right side wall. There she stopped dead in her tracks, and she could hear his tusks close audibly. Before her was a large section of human skulls. Like every other piece in the room, they had been cleaned and polished gleaming under the soft glow of the backlit walls, and taking on a mysterious quality as the mist swirled and then settled as she shifted closer. On Earth there would have been something sick about wanting to reach out and touch them, but here it felt different. She didn't feel like she was disrespecting the dead, and more importantly she didn't feel like a traitor. She didn't really feel like she was sleeping with the enemy. After all, it was at the hands of her own kind that she had suffered the greatest hurts. Much more than Kujhade had ever done. Suddenly, she didn't feel sorry for the people to whom these skulls had once belonged. Not because they'd done anything to her, but because they had been honored. Instead of feeling surrounded by the images of death as she thought she'd be, she felt how it was intended. Yes, Kujhade had killed these people, but it was nothing more than what people were capable of and in greater number. How many people gunned down the innocent? Raped people then killed them? Created reasons for war where countless lives were lost in the interest of people who would never suffer any consequences? Kujhade was a hunter. He was a hunter of men. He was a hunter of anything he deemed worthy to hunt, and Jasmine found that she was okay with that. As a matter of fact she was just fine with that. It wasn't personal, at least she didn't believe so. He had the skulls of so many other life forms to prove that he was an equal opportunity killer.

Jasmine stood for a while regarding the human skulls. It didn't feel right just turning around to leave as though she had looked at a painting or had gone window shopping and was now disinterested. So, not knowing how else to show respect for what she was really in the presence of, she stood back and bit and bowed slightly at the waist. This was a hall of fallen warriors, and that was the only way that she knew to pay respect to that fact. She raised up, feeling silly for having done it until she turned to see the expression on Kujhade's face. He was stunned. The deep sea of his emotions swirled in his eyes, most of it she couldn't discern. Jasmine walked over to him and placed her wrist in his hand.

"Can we go now?" She asked softly and not impolitely.

"Yes" he answered as he led her back out of the trophy room.

When the door slid shut behind them, he stood as if waiting for her verdict on what he'd shown her.

"I know what you are. I've always known what you were," she said gently as she turned to him and looked into his eyes, planting her hands on his firm chest.

"I accept it. I accept you. I wouldn't have wanted you to make love to me if I didn't," she said and she rose onto the tips of her toes, to kiss his upper chest near his collar bone.

Kujhade placed once hand gently on the side of her face. His whole demeanor had gone from a bit apprehensive, to completely content.

"In my culture, a male must show his trophies to his female as a sign of his strength and hunting prowess. To show they are good enough, strong enough to mate," Kujhade said, hoping that she understood the depth of what he was trying to convey.

Jasmine grabbed his large face in both her hands.

"You're plenty strong enough and good enough for me," she barely said, her breath ghosting against him as she planted three soft, gentle kisses. One on his right jaw, one on his mouth, and one on his left jaw, her last kiss lingering there as they forced themselves to part from each other.

"Thank you Kujhade," she said, still on her tippy toes as she planted another barely there kiss under his chin. His eyes went wide with shock. This was the second time Jasmine had verbally expressed gratitude to him, although he failed to see what she was thanking him for right now.

"Why do you thank me?" He asked. He just had to know this time.

"For everything," she said looking up at him, and resisting the urge to plant even more kisses on him.

"For being so understanding and patient, and dealing with my crazy ass. Thank you for making love to me. Thank you for showing me your special room," she said, to his surprise. He hadn't known nor had he been able to anticipate her reaction to seeing her own kind on his wall.

"I didn't know how I would feel to see it, but now that I have, I'm not all that bothered by it," she admitted.

"You are not bothered by the fact that I hunt and kill humans? Your kind?" He asked, genuinely interested in her thoughts on the matter. Jasmine shrugged.

"We kill each other every day, and never bat an eyelash. It's all over the news all the time. I mean we straight up drop bombs on each other like it ain't shit, and the only people who are hurt by it are the people under the damn bomb. So it's just a little hypocritical to get all high and mighty about some aliens that come down and kill a few people and then leave. It's not like you invaded Earth or anything," she told him.

Before having been confronted with it, she hadn't given a whole lot of thought one way or another. However, standing here now before a being directly involved with hunting her kind, she realized it was nothing more than hurt pride that made people demonize the predators. Humans were just used to being the biggest, baddest thing at the top of the food chain, and are now eternally butt hurt that they're not. Humans were a predatory race themselves, dominating the other life forms on the planet because they could. The yautja weren't much different, they were just better at it. If humans had found alien life forms first, they'd be trying to conquer them, and not a single person involved would be sorry about it. In fact, humans trophy hunted all the time and no one says a word. How many human hunters had a wall full of buck heads? Exactly.

Kujhade considered her words carefully, going over them in his mind. He had never thought about how humans treated one another. He took it for granted that it was similar to his culture. For the yautja, there was no such thing as all-out war. Sure, things cropped up between clans, but nothing that couldn't ultimately be settled with a trade of some sort, or a duel to the death and the matter was considered settled. He would have to research it and ask Jasmine about in depth another time. Right now though, he thought his next surprise would please her greatly.

"I believe it is time for you to see more of the ship. We are going to what you call a mess hall," Kujhade said, happy to watch her beam with delight at the thought.

"Really?!" She asked excitedly. He nodded, grinning a little.

"Yay!" Jasmine exclaimed jumping out of his loose embrace and doing a happy dance, which amused the hell out of Kujhade.

"I take it you like this idea?" He asked knowing the answer.

"Fuckin' right I like the idea, let's go!" She said again, offering him her hand which he gladly took. They left his quarters hand in hand, the very sight of a couple on the brink of falling in love.

* * *

"In case you didn't know, I need those females in good shape when we reach our destination, so I would appreciate it if you exercised some self-control, and quit acting like a young blood that just got his first few trophies," Setg'in admonished U'darajhe, as the latter strolled from the rear of the ship with a self-satisfied look on his face.

He plopped down ungracefully in the co-pilot seat, and adjusted his loincloth. Setg'in cast a look back where U'darajhe had come from, then looked back at him as he pointedly stared at the navigation screen.

"If I go back there to find that they so much as have a scratch on them, I will leave you at the trading post," Setg'in said.

U'darajhe stared wide eyed at the elder.

"We're going to the trading post? That would take us well past the seeding grounds," he said thoughtfully. Then with a furrowed brow, "What business would a most honorable elder of the council have with the bad bloods that gather there?" U'darajhe said sarcastically.

Setg'in gave him a quick side glance and grumbled a bit under his breath.

"What was that?" U'darajhe prodded, pleased to be getting under Setg'in's skin.

"I said just try not to get lost at the trading post! And don't go back in there with those females anymore either. They need to be in good condition. They also need something entering their bodies that isn't attached to you, so make sure they eat some food," Setg'in demanded.

In an irritated huff, U'darajhe got up to do as he was told. As soon as he came back into the ooman females chambers they scrambled back away from him. At least, the one that could scramble did so. The other one whom he had just finished with still lay nearly unconscious on the floor where he left her, naked, shivering, and bleeding from the mouth where he'd smacked her. U'darajhe pulled her up roughly by one arm and tossed her onto the metal cot jutting from the wall near the back of the relatively small room.

Setg'in's ship was larger than the average hunter's due mainly to his need to have things that were more extravagant than they needed to be. Instead of one sleep compartment it held three, and instead of a small cramped area for storage of food and supplies, it housed two medium sized storage areas. It was in one of these storage places where U'darajhe found some food suitable for the women, and also containers of water. The storage was just outside the tiny quarters. After rummaging for enough food that he thought would last them for a few hours, he came back into the room. The conscious woman scooted back again. U'darajhe stopped only to growl menacingly at her. It was enough to produce the alluring aroma of fear, and he had to bite back a chortle at how easy it was to scare them. He tossed the packages of dried meat and water to the middle of the floor and walked out, heading back to the co-pilot seat.

"I don't understand why you needed to bring them. They're weak and a hindrance," U'darajhe said, still irritated in general. Even mating hadn't lightened his mood, and he didn't even know why.

"A hindrance to whom? You seem to be taking your fill of them, so what are you complaining about?" Setg'in said, earning him a death glare from the co-pilot seat that he chose to ignore.

"In any case, didn't you hear me say we were headed to the TRADING post? The place where trading takes place? You know, I trade them for something that I want. Or is that concept too difficult for you to grasp?" Setg'in said. He could U'darajhe was getting angry with his smart remarks, but it was his fault for making it too easy.

"I know what a trading post is, I just thought…" U'darajhe started.

"I didn't bring you here because I was lonely and needed a companion. I brought you to save your life, don't make me regret that decision U'darajhe," Setg'in said, his tone calm but still filled with a warning that the younger hunter didn't miss.

"I don't need your help to save my life," U'darajhe said, puffing his chest with pride.

"Really? And who do you think Mar'cte was going to kill when he found out that his two mates had been stolen?" Setg'in said as he watched the realization of his words dawn on U'darajhe's face. The face of a true dotard, Setg'in thought to himself as he shook his head slightly in disbelief.

U'darajhe clamped his mouth shut. Once again he had allowed himself to be used in Setg'in's schemes, and here he was sitting in his ship with him. An accomplice to whatever he was up to now, which couldn't be good if they were headed to the trading post, den of thieves and murderers as it were. Now he understood that Setg'in hadn't been joking lightly when he threatened to leave him there. He'd have to tread even more carefully than he at first thought. Setg'in thought he was stupid, and while U'darajhe didn't like that, he thought maybe it was best to be underestimated and thought too dense to escape a situation. U'darajhe sat quietly. Perhaps it would do him good to listen more and speak a little less around Setg'in.

* * *

The mess hall was just as loud and chaotic as Jasmine thought it would be. As soon as they had gotten off of the elevators, the doors had opened up on the enormous hall. Rows and rows of neatly arranged picnic like tables spanned from wall to wall. At the farthest wall sat a single table in the shape of a semi-circle that overlooked the entire hall. Only three elders sat there eating and scanning the crowd before them. It was completely packed, and Jasmine couldn't see a single empty space where they could sit.

Kujhade held her firmly by the wrist as he began to lead her towards a table. As they walked through the rows all eyes were cast on the couple with a few males taking note of the very noticeable bite mark on Jasmine's shoulder. Jasmine and Kujhade had to squeeze past many a yautja in their quest for a suitable place to eat. She noticed that they tended to avert their eyes away from Kujhade. It wasn't fear that drove them to this, but their way to show him that he was shunned and unwelcomed.

"… _.mate is a ooman?"_

"… _..will never be as good as a yautja female…"_

"… _disgusting…."_

"… _..never mate with your prey…."_

The snatches of derisive comments and conversations shocked Jasmine, but it also made her hold Kujhade's hand tighter, and walk closer to him. Instead of merely being led around, she took a more assertive approach. Jasmine made sure to walk beside him rather than behind him. Kujhade was her man, and back in the hood you didn't let bitches talk shit about your man. If you couldn't whoop ass for the disrespect, you at least stood proud next to the man who was claiming you and Kujhade had definitely claimed her. Jasmine made sure to do her best runway walk next to him. Her hips swayed, shoulders back, chin up, head held high, and she could have sworn she saw his head lift higher, and his stride become longer and more assured. He had even tightened his grip on her as they made their way past yautja's who were eating, arguing, posturing, and at least one actual fight that broke out which Kujhade didn't even pause to acknowledge. Finally, Kujhade chose a table that was more towards the rear of the entire room. It was in the corner and only one or two yautja were there. One of them scooted away from Kujhade this time obviously intimidated by his presence. The other stood and got directly in Kujhade's face. Kujhade squared his shoulders, and moved Jasmine behind him. The predator that stood before them was just a tad taller than Kujhade, but not as wide. He was almost all black except a strip of pale yellow skin down his front. Jasmine immediately thought of him as a bumble bee. He regarded Kujhade with open contempt, clicking his mandibles together as though he were assessing him, or measuring him, maybe sizing him up. Bumble Bee took a gander over Kujhade's shoulder, earning a deep growl as a warning. Bumble Bee smirked, and tossed his dreads making as if to walk past Kujhade. All the while Kujhade stood like a stone wall, not saying anything while at the same time making it obvious that he was not to be trifled with. Bumble Bee stood a while longer just staring.

"If you have something to say you need to speak or get the fuck out of my way," Kujhade warned, while squaring his shoulders even more and widening his stance.

Bumble Bee grunted, looked like he wanted to say something more, but thought better about it and moved on.

Jasmine relaxed a little as the tense moment passed, but now she was more on edge than she was when they walked into the hall. She looked around, taking in the faces of all the yautja there. Of all the ones who had turned to pay attention to the couple, not a single one of those faces were friendly. In a way it made Jasmine sad. Was it only happening because of her presence? Something told her that wasn't even half the story. Something told her that Kujhade endured this on a regular basis, and she could feel a knot of righteous anger rise in her throat. She swallowed it in the interest of keeping the peace, and not ruining her first time in another part of the ship.

"Why we gotta sit all in the corner?" Jasmine said, casting a disgusted look all around the table, walls, and ceiling as if she had been made to dine in filth.

"Because this is where we are sitting Jasmine," Kujhade said, sitting down and motioning her to do the same. Jasmine stood a little longer, looking about the room. Her glances were met with varying degrees of mixed curiosity and hostility.

"But it's all secluded in the corner though, like a reject table or something. We passed up perfectly good seats just to get over here and eat in squalor," Jasmine continued to complain. Kujhade didn't see the big deal since he was accustomed to it, but wanted her to stop drawing attention to them.

"Jasmine, sit down and eat. I won't say it again," Kujhade demanded. Jasmine gave one last exasperated huff and sat down. She guessed it wasn't worth making a scene about. Kujhade visibly relaxed once she sat down.

"I'll leave it alone Kujhade, but just know that I know this is some bullshit," Jasmine said as she watched a server come their way.

The server was a relatively shorter, thin yautja male. He looked young to her and lacked any form of armor. She guessed this was his assigned role or something similar. Regardless of whatever rank he did or didn't enjoy, his face held obvious contempt and disgust when he finally found his way to her and Kujhade's table. He completely ignored her, and spoke dryly to Kujhade, who didn't bother looking at the young server in the face. Kujhade ordered something for the both of them, which she knew for a fact was meat.

"Kujhade, do you all ever eat like greens, or leaves or something that's not meat? This all meat diet is fucking my stomach up for real," Jasmine said, leaning over the table to whisper conspiratorially. Kujhade nodded and apparently made a special request.

The server managed to look really put out by it, even casting her a look before stalking off to bring back the food. As she waited with her head propped by one hand, Jasmine tapped her fingers on the table as she continued to look around and take in her surroundings. The ceiling was high, to the point where it was shrouded in darkness. Like the corridors, the mess hall had backlit walls although it was with a more whitish light that than maddening yellow orange. It lacked all the carving and sculpting that seemed to characterize the décor of the ship. Everything was very plain and utilitarian. The tables were fastened to the floor and were metal as were most things on the ship. Despite its size and function, the mess hall was meticulously cleaned. She could smell the food, but couldn't see any that wasn't being eaten on a platter. If only human cafeterias and chow halls could be so clean.

After waiting only a short while the young server - whom Jasmine realized wasn't a male but a female judging by the small breasts hidden just under a top that was made of some form of leather – came back laden with platters of food that couldn't possibly be for just them. Then Jasmine remembered how much Kujhade could eat and decided it wasn't too much food after all. The young female server shoved Kujhade's food before him disrespectfully. Jasmine looked at Kujhade expecting him to react to the obvious issue, but he said nothing. He only waited quietly for the server to be done. She had brought a large platter filled with strange looking things that Jasmine could only assume were the veggies and possible fruit that she'd requested. That platter too, got slammed down along with a large helping of attitude and disrespect. Two large mugs of liquid, water for Jasmin and some foul smelling stuff that Kujhade liked to drink, were slammed down with it as well. Jasmine, with eyes wide in disbelief, looked from Kujhade who looked like he was used to it, to the female who was dishing out all the attitude. Jasmine wasn't about to let it slide.

"I swear before everything I love, predator or not, if you slam one more muthafuckin' thing down in front of me or my man, it's gonna be you and me bitch," Jasmine threatened to both the surprise of the server and Kujhade who had snapped his eyes up to give Jasmine a hard stare.

"You can look at me all you want to Kujhade, but where I come from you can't let bitches disrespect you and yours like that. Now, I sat here and just wanted to watch how many times she was gonna slap some shit down in front of us like she done lost her damn mind," Jasmine said, giving direct eye contact to the server girl.

She knew she was probably biting off more than she could chew, but ever since they stepped foot in the room it had been nothing but pure hatred. She now knew it was because Kujhade was albino, and he hadn't helped matters by being with her, a weak ooman as they called her. Intuitively she understood the depth of the situation Kujhade was in, and she also thought she could further appreciate the dynamics of his choosing her as his mate. He was outcast. He'd told her this, but until now she hadn't been able to see past her own plight to pay attention to his. His status as a social pariah was a precarious one in a culture that she was coming to understand as very superficial in some ways. Instead of accepting him socially based on his skills as a hunter, he was forced to live in a sort of limbo within his own people. Equal parts accepted and rejected. She guessed he was too good of a hunter for them to ignore his skill, but for some reason his physical difference could not be overlooked.

"Jasmine, she is little more than a pup…" Kujhade tried to say in an attempt to calm her down, and stop her from making a scene.

"Well then she should know how to respect her elders. She fuckin' tried it, I don't give a shit about her being young," Jasmine said, her voice raising as she talked.

She really didn't know why it bothered her so much, but later she would have time to think about it, and the answer would be clear. She cared about Kujhade. In fact, she was really close to something like being in love with him, the sex serving to further that process along nicely. He was generally disrespected to such an extent that even the young among his kind felt free to do so, and she knew regardless of it being a different custom, that was fucked up no matter where you went in the galaxy. Furthermore, it was unjust and unfair. To be treated badly over something he couldn't help was outrageous to her. Notwithstanding the fact that she knew exactly how it felt to be judged inferior based on something as basic as skin tone.

Other yautja were starting to look in their direction to see what the commotion was all about. The young female Jasmine was speaking to just stared, aghast that an ooman had the audacity to speak to her at all. Her mandibles flared and she growled loudly at Jasmine. Kujhade was still staring at Jazzy across the table. At first it was with annoyance and a bit of anger, maybe even embarrassment, but now she couldn't read it at all.

At the show of aggression, Jasmine stood up as well. Even being young, the female stood a head taller than her, roughly the height of an average human man. Her shoulders were broad, and her legs like young tree trunks. The female was thin in relation to her kind, but she was much bigger than Jasmine in every aspect. Still, in the streets if you talked the talk, you had to walk the walk, and while Jasmine didn't consider herself a fighter she wasn't a punk either. Kujhade's eyes were glued to Jasmine. He hadn't even taken a bite of food. He also didn't intervene. He only growled warnings to keep others from jumping in. A small crowd had begun to form consisting mostly of males but there were a few females among them, standing tall among the group and quietly observing the altercation.

"Who do you think you're speaking to…ooman!" The young female spat at Jasmine. She backed away but not in retreat. She only backed up to give herself more room for fighting. Jasmine was standing her ground. She casted around quickly for some form of weapon, but the yautja ate with their hands so there were no utensils. Shit.

"You come in here, with…him! And you dare want respect?! You're fortunate your head has remained on your body thus far, prey!" The female said, as she let loose a roar that was surprisingly deep and resounding. The males in the group hooted their approval, as the females simply watched closely.

Jasmine couldn't take it. She lunged at the female before she could regret that decision. The female was taken aback by the attack, as she caught Jasmine and they both fell back against a table. Jasmine punched her in the face, immediately lamenting it as she drew back with a cut hand. The female wasted no time returning the favor, lifting Jasmine with one hand and tossing her halfway across a table full of gawking yautja males.

Dazed, Jasmine had little time before the young yautja female was on her, dragging her off the table by her ankles. Jasmine's hand flopped frantically for anything she could grab, and came up with one of the large metal mugs something like a beer mug. When she got to the edge of the table, ankle bleeding from the young females talons, Jasmine dashed the contents of the mug into her face. It was some of that stinky drink they all seemed to enjoy, and apparently it was like alcohol because the female barked out a few surprised cries and was trying to wipe her face.

Kujhade stood by, mandibles slack at what he was seeing. He had never seen Jasmine truly angry. He'd seen her crying, he'd seen her distressed, and he'd seen her as what he viewed as no more than mildly agitated, but he had never seen her angry enough to fight. Her fighting form was horrible and it was bound to get her killed even in this light skirmish, but still she had heart. She had bravery and the guts to fight, although the reason for her anger escaped him.

Everything was happening at once for Jasmine. Picking fights wasn't her thing, but she was in one anyway. She hadn't gotten into a physical altercation since well before being brought to this ship, and she had absolutely never fought anything as strong as this young female. She barely registered the fact that Kujhade wasn't jumping in, and maybe that was for the best. She should have just sat down and eaten, and not said anything, and enjoyed her day with her boyfriend, but this female had caught Jasmine at just the time in her life where she was done sitting back and taking abuse.

Flipping the mug in her hand so that the handle was across her knuckles while her hand was wrapped around the cup itself, Jasmine started hitting the young yautja about the face and head. Jasmine enjoyed the upper hand briefly, until the female regained her sight and composure. Jasmine was straddling her on the floor, when the server girl turned underneath her with the power and speed natural to her kind, and tossed Jasmine off of her like a rag doll. Jasmine landed hard against a table, her breath knocked from her as she doubled over it. She heard the yautja girl roar and run at her. Jasmine was waiting for the impact, but it never came. She slid to the floor, still having not caught her breath, and turned to see what was what. Kujhade had simply stepped between her and the charging female, much to the chagrin of the entire crowd, who barked and roared disapproval.

"…let her finish her off…"

"…..don't deprive the young pup of her kill!"

They jeered raucously, encroaching in as if the finish the job. Kujhade had had enough. He let loose a bone rattling roar, long and loud in a full display of anger and challenge.

"Any who so much as touch a hair on her head, will find theirs on my trophy wall!" Kujhade roared out, effectively hushing the crowd down to a murmur.

"I am an honored warrior, and I outrank the majority of you here, so if you challenge me today over my mate, know that it will be to the death and I will show you the meaning of my name!" And that shut them up even more, some of them even hanging their heads and dispersing a little.

Jasmine had made it to her feet after a couple of tries. She wanted to cosign what he was saying with a little trash talk of her own, but as she looked at Kujhade and how angry he was, she closed her mouth tightly. She reached out to graze his arm with her fingertips, but he didn't move a muscle until everyone had resumed their places. Unexpectedly he wheeled around on her, making her step back into the table behind her. He gave her another look she couldn't really read, and then picked her up cave man style, slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"We need to talk!" He barked to her as he strode quickly out of the mess hall to the elevator. Somehow Jasmine didn't figure he wanted to discuss the weather. She slumped over his shoulder, not even caring that her butt was premier and in the air as he walked. When they made it inside the elevator, he put her down and just stared at her without speaking. Yeah, she wasn't going to enjoy this little chit chat at all.

* * *

 **Review Responses!:**

 **Chandra** \- First of all, thanks for your reviews! I really enjoyed reading your thoughts and ideas on the story. I've got some drama planned out for sure, as there are some things brewing. Kujhade has done a lot to accommodate Jasmine, so I do want to take some time to show how Jasmine will respond to him. What compromises and concessions will she make to meet him halfway?

 **Cityhunterluv -** I'm glad that made you happy. I was trying to capture the sensitive nature of the moment, and the feelings involved. I think he had a right to be angry with her. He's done a lot to build the foundations of a relationship with her, and trying to make a good go of it. So far Jasmine has been taking it all in, and not giving a whole lot back. I do think she's finding all that love and tenderness that she has within, and I think she's going to give him more love and acceptance than he has ever received. He needs just as much comfort from her as she has needed from him, he just doesn't know it yet. And yes, their first encounter was tame by my lemon standards. I usually like to get people's fantasies working when I write smut, but it was more challenging to try to write love-making while still letting you know that they're getting it in. I plan on future sessions being pretty much hardcore smut. Jasmine is young but without a prudish bone in her body. She's gonna have his toes curling in a little bit.


	17. Make Up

**A/N: There is a more hardcore lemon in this chapter, so if you are averse to yautja/human sex, you might not want to read the end. That is all.**

* * *

Kujhade stared intensely at Jasmine for a while, watching her rub her sore bleeding hand. She alternated between rubbing the hand, and rubbing around her ribs and abdomen where a nice bruise was forming from where she slammed into the table. He pressed a button that closed the doors, but the elevator did not move.

"That was stupid Jasmine," he tried to say calmly. Her eyes snapped up to meet his even gaze.

"Not my finest moment, especially since I kinda got my ass whooped, but shit I held my own," she said, pride a little hurt but she was trying to hide it.

"By a child no less," he said.

"Whatever, she should've known a child's place then," Jasmine shot back.

"What does that even mean? I still don't understand why you were so angry. You entered into a fight that you knew you could not win. Why?" He asked coming closer to her, backing her into the corner of the elevator.

"I…I did it 'cause…I did it for you alright," she said, sulking now as she pretended to pay attention to her minor injuries.

"I do not need you to fight for me Jasmine," Kujhade said, trying to suppress a little chuckle. That she could think he needed her to defend him was utterly ridiculous.

"Maybe not physically," she said giving him an earnest look. He really was either pretending to be unaware of what was so obvious to her, or he knew it but didn't care about it.

"Not at all," Kujhade told her, cupping her chin now that he had her successfully backed into the corner. She moved her chin away from his hand, casting her eyes down, and knitting her brow.

"Now it's your turn Kujhade," she said, glancing up at him through her lashes again, and fumbling with her hand that had stopped bleeding.

"My turn for what? You're not making sense to me. Say what it is you need to say plainly," he said, trying to cup her chin again.

"Tell me why. Tell my why you let them treat you like that, huh? If she's such a kid why did she feel it was okay to disrespect a hunter like you then? Why was it okay for them to say all that shit as we were walking through?" Jasmine said, frustrated that he didn't seem to get it, or worse, he didn't seem to mind. His eyes shifted when she mentioned the hateful comments.

"Yeah I heard all that. Now, maybe I don't understand a lot of things about the way you do things. Maybe I don't understand much about what's acceptable and what's not, but I do understand bullshit. I do understand prejudice, injustice, unfairness, and ignorant ass customs and traditions," Jasmine said folding her arms after having made her point. Kujhade made that blank face that she couldn't read, and her eyes shifted in uncertainty.

"I'm different, you know this. I should have died as a pup, that is the tradition," Kujhade said in a flat tone of finality, his mandibles set.

"Well fuck that tradition then, it sucks!" Jasmine said, with her arms still crossed and stamping her sneakered foot. Had she not been so serious it would have been comical how short she was, like a petulant child standing up to a parent.

"You don't understand Jasmine," Kujhade said, as if he couldn't break it down any further for a hard headed child.

"No you don't understand!" Jasmine screamed pushing him in his chest although he didn't move an inch.

"You don't understand! You say you should have died but you didn't! You didn't die, you survived and you came back Kujhade! You're every bit as good as them, better probably because you showed me!" Jasmine yelled at him, smacking his chest with after every sentence. He still stood there with that blank look. She couldn't tell whether he was angry, or thoughtful or what.

"I know what you told me before, but none of it is true Kujhade," she said in a softer, plaintive tone, her eyes shining with unshed tears. She had to make him understand. Instead of uselessly beating his chest, she began to soothe it. Slowly rubbing her hands on him.

"You're not a bad blood. Your color didn't make you useless for hunting, and it doesn't make you less than. It makes you unique. I bet you anything for all those bastards in there that had something to say behind your back, none of them would dare challenge you to your face. You see what happened when it was time to put up or shut up, they ass fell right the fuck back. You know why? Because they know you're just as good or better. They know that this…" she said as she pointed at his cream colored skin, "is the only thing they can use to bring you down. To make you feel beneath them, to make you feel like they've got something that you don't got."

Kujhade made no moves other than to grab both her hands into his, and bend so that he was face to face with her.

"You must never do that again. Not for me. Not ever. I am to protect you my mate, not the other way around," he said with surety, but she could see that familiar sea of emotion swirling furiously in his eyes. Jasmine shook her head.

"That is the end Jasmine, you will not fight for me again," he said, his word the final say as he stood straight again. She would listen whether she wanted to or not.

"No! I'll do it every time because they can't get away with it anymore. Not around me they can't. I don't care if I get beat up all the time, I'm not letting it slide!" Jasmine said, trying to yank her hands out of his to punctuate her statement, but failing miserably.

"Why?!" Kujhade roared, finally tired of battling with her over this dead issue.

"Because I love you!" She screamed. She didn't sob, but fat sparkling tears fell down her cheeks anyway.

They both stood as still as statues, shocked at the revelation. He couldn't believe she'd said it, and she couldn't believe she meant it. He released her hands from his own in a very deliberate manner. Almost a silent denial of the statement that hung between them, settling upon them like a heavy weight. He backed away from her, as she stretched her hands towards him.

"'Jhade…" She called after him in a small, confused voice.

"We will eat now," He said to her in the softest, most sorrowful tone she had ever heard coming from him.

He opened the elevator doors. Jasmine offered her hand, which he did not take, as he strode out of the door back to the table they'd left. Before she left the confines of the elevator, Jasmine wiped her eyes and put on a calm face. Before all the drugs and hatred, Jasmine had witnessed her mother Angela be a dutiful and good wife to her late father Emilio aka 'Mili'. One of the lessons Jasmine remembered was that no matter what happened between you and your man, you never aired your dirty laundry. You always appeared as a unified front. With that in mind, Jasmine hurriedly made her way to walk alongside Kujhade, head held high, shoulders back, hips swaying sexily, fluffy hair tossed to one side, and her arm interlinked with his. He didn't return the contact, but he didn't pull away either. They made their way back to their original table, where the food was still hot and waiting. They cast glances at each other every now and then, but they ate in silence.

* * *

Mar'cte had a routine, and he did not like interruptions to it. He hunted almost daily, trained, came back to his quarters to clean himself, and have sex with Brenda who had taken the place of his two kidnapped mates. He paid little mind to Brenda's comings and goings. Unlike Kujhade, he had not been socially ostracized which meant that he was still under an obligation to impregnate females of his own kind. There were a small number of females on the clan ship, and due to his excellence in terms of the hunt, he was mating them when he wasn't mating Brenda.

Brenda didn't mind it at all. She was used to being a free spirit, always had been. She did things that benefitted her, and had learned long ago not to trust others. Her mother and father called her selfish, and she couldn't disagree. She'd grown up affluent, her drug habit developing out of boredom and teenage rebellion against strict parenting. She had siblings that a good sense of moral responsibility would have dictated that she set a better example for, but she was selfish. She'd spent her father's money dropping in and out of schools until he cut her off. She cursed her mother and brothers and sisters until she was cut out of the will. Everything had gone downhill from there. Brenda did what she wanted, when she wanted, and to whom she wanted, for as long as she wanted. Sure she had the potential to be better. Her mother had always told her that she was destined to do great things, as soon as she crawled out of the gutter.

Brenda had her moments. Her moments spent on this ship had been some of her finest, and to top it off she was having some of the best sex of her life. She had managed to stay under the radar, she'd managed to keep a few drugs on hand, and she'd even managed a pseudo-friendship with the beautiful but naïve Jasmine. Brenda managed to even play nice with these yautja bastards for the time being, but it wouldn't last forever. There was a way off this ship and back to Earth, and Brenda was determined to find it. That meant do what she did best, and what Brenda did best was gather information and store it for use later. Nothing was off limits, or irrelevant.

At the moment she was gathering the best information yet. Brenda was making good use of her time and talents, cozied up in one of the elder councilmembers private quarters. She'd gotten the old fucker drunk off that loud smelling drink they all liked. She had ridden him, let him screw her in almost every conceivable position, and she'd given him two of the best blow jobs she'd ever given anyone, back to back. Brenda was straddling him in his bed, smoking a joint and giving him a contact via shotgun. It didn't quite make them high, they had too much resistance to that, but it made them extremely relaxed and talkative. This one was talking a mile a minute, spilling the tea, the beans, and everything else he could spill.

He was telling her about how much he liked Setg'in, and how even though he didn't know the details, he did know that Setg'in had a plan to take the leadership position. He told her how he would support anything that Setg'in did to gain the position, but would say no more on the matter. He was even telling her how much Jasmine's little lover boy was despised among them because of his deformity as it were. How there were more than a few of them who wondered about what Jasmine was like in bed, and why he was able to have her to himself. He was Bakuub's little favorite, and that rubbed quite a few of them the wrong way. The old fart was telling her how they would have taken Jasmine from him by now and passed her around, had he not been backed by Bakuub, and had it not all been more trouble than it was worth.

Brenda sat there on top of that predator as he talked and talked, not thinking anything of telling her this because he was so sure that it would all go over her pretty little inferior human head. He dismissed her a little while after. Brenda made nice, smiled, promised him another good time later, and left. She went back to Mar'cte's empty quarters, took a shower, and thought about cute little Jazzy. One thing the old coot had said wasn't such a bad idea. Maybe Jazzy should be shared, but not among them. Brenda thought maybe she and Kujhade could share Jasmine, and he would never have to even know. Jasmine didn't seem quite like the type that swung both ways, but Brenda was and she figured that if Jasmine had been in the streets and on drugs, she might have done a few things for a hit or place to stay. Plus, not to mention that fact that Jasmine had a lot of emotional baggage, and could probably just be wooed with a few nice words and some weed. It was settled then. Jasmine would play nice and give up a little of that brown sugar, and if she didn't? If Jasmine didn't wanna be Brenda's little catch of the day? Well, then it wouldn't go so well for her now would it? She'd find herself planted firmly under a bus when the time was right, and Brenda thought that time might be coming up sooner than expected. This Setg'in character seemed like just the one to get shit stirred around here, and Brenda would find a way to use it to her advantage. There was a way off this dreaded ship and back to Earth, and Brenda was going to find it.

There had been no real training after all. Kujhade had briefly taken Jasmine to the kehrite just to show her where it was, but had firmly warned her not to come there alone under any circumstances. After that, he had taken her back to the apartment and left her there, not having said more than a few words to her from the time they were in the mess hall, until they got home. Without explanation he left, and did not return until much later. During that time, Jasmine had thought about roaming the ship to find Brenda but thought better about that. The last couple of times she'd struck out on her own, it hadn't turned out well at all. In any case, Jasmine didn't feel much like socializing anyway.

She took a quick shower, put on some other clothes that he had gotten her, then changed her mind and put on the little makeshift leather skirt, and yet another tank top that he had procured for her. This one was just as tight as the other one, and Jasmine wondered vaguely why all these clothes were so damn small. She threw her curly, poofy hair into a quick faux-hawk with a few scrounged hair clips that she'd found in the goodie crates. Jasmine thought about hiding out in her room, but Kujhade had made it clear that he would no longer tolerate her to use it as a place to hide from him. So instead of hiding out, she got her trusty iPod and fired it up over the speaker system. Trials of The Past by SBTRKT poured into the space, as Jasmine sat at the table that faced the panoramic window of the stars shooting by. She sat, folding one leg under her as she sung the words to herself and thought about the conversation they'd had earlier. Maybe she had made a huge mistake doing what she did. She was prone to rash actions, and bad decisions at times, and was trying to convince herself that she was wrong, but somehow she couldn't quite do it. Then on top of all of that, she confronted him about how he was wrong to accept a treatment she viewed as prejudice. Still she had no idea how he had taken or processed that. Apparently he hadn't taken it all that well, because he wasn't even really talking to her anymore. The cherry on top of the fucked up sundae was that she'd gone and blurted out that she loved him, and that was worst of all. What has she expected him to do with that information? Return it? Scoop her up in his arms and say it back to her? No. She couldn't expect him to react in the ways a man would.

The previous song moved into Something Goes Right also by SBTRKT, and Jasmine bopped her head to the music and started to sing the words. They made her feel better, and they were appropriate to how she now felt about Kujhade. She hadn't asked for all this, but she had found someone to love. He was nice to her, he had made love to her, he'd asked for permission to do it too. He had showed her his trophies, and she had probably fucked it all up in one fell swoop. The view outside was mesmerizing, and he had come back to find Jasmine zoned out, absently singing along to a song he didn't understand. When she heard the quiet whoosh of the sliding door, she immediately turned the music down and just watched him. He had trophies strapped to his back, the skulls and backbones of some strange thing he had killed. He disappeared into his trophy room staying a long time. Jasmine tried to wait for him to come out, but she eventually turned back around to face the window, getting lost in thought. She tried not to think the worst, tried not to beat herself up, but she was losing the battle. He was angry with her now, and she didn't know how to turn it back around. Sex was second nature, but relationships were fairly new territory for her, especially ones that didn't involve her being abused on some level.

After what had to be a couple of hours, Kujhade emerged from the trophy room and headed straight for the bath. He didn't spend a whole lot of time there, before he came out and went straight to bed. Jasmine turned around to watch his movements, hoping he would pay her some attention, but he didn't even look in her direction. She got up and crossed the room to turn her iPod off, the sudden silence deafening. She stood debating whether or not to lay with him or retreat to her safe haven. She even started towards her closet room, but turned on her heels suddenly and went back towards his bed. She stripped all her clothing, but hesitated a moment before slipping down next to him. He had his back turned, laying on his side. She got in front of him to find him wide awake, green eyes almost seeming to glow in the relative darkness of the room. The only light coming from the large window.

For a long moment they lay there simply looking at each other, saying nothing at all and not touching. Jasmine figured she needed to take the lead here. He may not have wanted to, or been able to express anything to her at this moment, and could not be expected to. His kind seemed as if talking about their feelings was frowned upon perhaps, or just something they didn't think or feel the need to do.

"I'm sorry 'Jhade," she began.

"Why?" He responded immediately.

"I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier. I wasn't trying to make you mad," she said timidly. She had to fight sudden unbidden emotion from catching in her throat. She really was sorry for angering him.

For a long time he wore that blank look again, unreadable, distant, and said nothing. Feeling as though she had failed to reach him again, Jasmine turned her back to him and proceeded to scoot over to the other edge, until a large muscled arm wrapped itself around her waist, and dragged her back against a hard chest, punctuated by a brief but distinct growl. She felt his tusks weave their way through her hair.

"I do not like discord with you my mate," his said softly and she could feel the vibration of his voice travel down her spine. Jasmine flipped herself around to face him, stroking his jawline.

"I don't either," she said as she felt his hand travel down her side.

"I still do not like your fighting for me, but I do admire your courage. Foolish, but brave," he said to her. It made her smile and plant a kiss on her lower tusk.

"I guess I should say thanks then," she said, still smiling as he nodded his head.

"I suppose that was our first argument, would you agree?" She asked, stroking his face and chest.

"Yes, although I did not like the..." he searched for the word, but came up short and huffed in frustration.

"You didn't like the tension. I didn't either baby," she offered to his relief.

"Yes, tension," he confirmed.

"But you know there is a human custom that comes into play here you know?" She said as he inclined his head as best he could, intrigued to learn something else, as her lessons seemed to revolve around mating.

"It's called make-up sex, and you're supposed to do it when you're done arguing and after you apologize," she said as his tusk lifted in a half grin.

"By all means, you must teach me this custom of yours," he said, a gleam of lust in his eyes.

Jasmine giggled a little as she snuggled closer to him, hands finding their way to his stiffening cock. His hands were everywhere at once, grabbing her ass and squeezing and kneading the soft flesh. Jasmine kissed and licked his chest, enjoying the rough feel of his textured skin on her tongue. She pushed until he lay flat on his back, as she crawled her naked form on top of him. She kissed and licked her way down his abdomen, tracing the large muscles there with her tongue. Kujhade raised up on his elbows to watch her, his purring growing louder and louder the further down she went.

"I've got something else I've been meaning to do to you 'Jhade," Jasmine said silkily, a mischievous smile playing on her lips. He tilted his head to the side, watching her movements with rapt attention.

She moved lower, positioning herself between the slabs of his thighs. She carefully and slowly kissed up one inner thigh, completely avoiding his thick length, and kissing down the other inner thigh. His purring kicked up a notch as she went, not knowing what to expect, but eager to find out what she would do. Painstakingly she kissed, nipped, and licked her way back up his inner thigh then stopped. She got his eye contact, as her mouth hovered over the thick head of his drooling cock. He gripped the pelts underneath him, uncertainty fluttering in his gut. What was she planning, and should he be worried? Maybe he should stop her? She had blunt teeth, but that didn't mean he wanted her biting him with them, especially not there. Without breaking eye contact, Jasmine started at the base of his eleven inch thickness, and gave him one long lick to the tip. He bucked his hips both in surprise and anticipation. This was unexpected to say the least, and unheard of, but then again she was an alien and she did have a soft mouth. Then he remembered his thumb, and how good that felt. Still he watched her, but the feeling she was giving him was just a notch under actual mating.

Jasmine closed her mouth over him, causing his hips to buck again involuntarily. With one hand she grabbed his hard cock, unable to close her fist around it but it didn't matter. She swirled her tongue around the tip, licking up the copious amount of precum and swallowing it down. She licked the shaft a few more times before taking him completely in her mouth, managing to deep throat a good portion of his length. Just on instinct, Kujhade grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling it to one side as he watched himself disappear into her mouth over and over again. He purred loudly, his mandibles splayed, taking in the scent of her arousal which nearly filled the room. This was mind boggling. How she was able to produce this feeling with only her mouth was beyond his understanding, but it mattered little.

The wet sounds of her sucking him off filled the whole space, overshadowed only by his ceaseless purring. For several minutes Jasmine continued to suck and lick him, all the while working the rest of his length with one hand until she felt him throb in her mouth. With a plop she pulled off of him, much to his confusion. He grunted and pushed her head back down, as she immediately complied. She took him in her mouth again, as he started slowly pumping his hips, working himself deeper. It wasn't long until he came, filling her mouth until it spilled back down the length of his cock, and roaring his satisfaction. Jasmine sat back grinning and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Kujhade recovered quickly, raising up on his knees and getting behind her. His hands found her breasts, rolling her hard nipples between his fingers as he pressed against her back. She closed her eyes, a moan escaping her as she leaned her head back against his chest.

She knew what he wanted, and didn't make him ask or force her into the position. Jasmine bent over in front of him, plump ass in the air and face down in the furs that lined his bed. Kujhade grabbed another two handfuls of her ass, purring and growling. Jasmine turned her head, looking behind her to see him just staring down at her.

"You gonna look all night, or you gonna fuck this wet pussy?" She taunted, wiggling her ass for emphasis.

Kujhade wasted no time entering her, spreading her ass cheeks to watch his entire cock sink into her.

"Fuck!" They both cursed, hissing as he buried himself to the hilt. He rolled his hips once, then snapped them against her, setting a fast pace once again. Grunting and cursing under his breath about how tight she was, and how good it felt.

With both hands he took her by the hips and pulled her back against him, forcefully making her meet his thrusts.

"Ohmygod, fuck me, FUCK ME!" She screamed and he pounded her relentlessly into the furs below her. This was what he wanted. To make her pant and growl and scream as he entered her over and over, and she didn't disappoint. She was intoxicating, producing a mating scent he didn't think even the most fertile yautja female could match. He even quieted his purring as hard as that was to do, just to hear the sound of his hips smacking against her, and the sounds of her panting his name and ordering him to turn her around. Kujhade slid himself out of her as she scrambled to turn over on her back, spreading her legs lewdly for him and rubbing her own sex. He paused watching her hands trying to figure out what she was doing to herself, wondering if he was missing some action that would make this better for her. Without saying anything Kujhade moved her hand away and took a look at her. He sorely wished he had his visor, but there was no time to retrieve it now. He could see well enough to discern a particular point of heat where her hand was, and reached down to touch it himself.

"Yessss, rub my fucking clit," Jasmine hissed as she rolled her hips up against his hand. Seeing her instant reaction, Kujhade rubbed a little more with the pad of his thumb, wanting to see her roll her hips up again. He flicked his thumb over the hard nub of flesh again, and as he thought Jasmine hissed again and shuddered a little.

"Mmmmm, yessss," she hissed out again, her eyes fluttering and her head tossed to one side, as she bit her bottom lip. Her wetness was fascinating to him, and he couldn't get enough of touching her sensitive area. It was the only place on her body that was hot to the touch, and he could actually see the heat radiating from that spot. She had gotten a rhythm going, rolling her hips in time to the flick of his thumb, but she needed more.

"I need it 'Jhade...mmmm...I need that big dick inside me," she said looking directly at him, eyes almost pleading. Kujhade placed his hands on either side of her head, leaning down so that his mandibles were grazing her face. He positioned himself between her legs, as she grabbed and guided him into her. As soon as his head was at her entrance he plunged himself to the hilt again, and an orgasm threatened her. She closed her eyes against it briefly, but then opened them again to look at his face. He had an intense look in his eyes, and even in the midst of him grinding his hips and seemingly trying to bury himself even deeper inside her, she could see the cauldron of emotion swirling in them. Then, impossibly he thickened and stiffened even more, his mandibles slacked as he came inside her. Somehow he managed to keep the roar to a minimum volume, as he barely moved in order to keep as much of his seed as possible from spilling out. The wave of her orgasm bowled her over as well, as she cried out his name and clamped down on him so hard, that he was hard pressed to move even if he wanted to.

Long minutes passed as they remained in that position, him refusing to lean his considerable weight down on her, both of them shuddering through the aftershocks. Finally, he leaned down and rolled them both over, his cock still semi-hard and still planted firmly inside her. She pulled the pelts around them up over them both, as sleep stole over them. She had just a few more moments of wakefulness. Just long enough to plant more innocent kisses on his lower jaw. Just as she drifted off, she felt him squeeze her tighter and mumble something about life mates, before the oblivion of orgasm induced sleep overtook her.


	18. Louder Than Words

The planet they landed on was one huge, harsh, hot desert. It was perpetually twilight, the sun only making an appearance a few times out of the planet's short year. The heat was held by the atmospheric conditions that did not allow heat to escape easily from its surface. The winds were ceaseless and provided no relief, as they whipped the sand all about in every direction. The sky was such that the stars could not be seen. His mask would be essential as much for protecting his face from the constant sandstorm, as it would be for comfortable breathing.

It had already been two weeks since Setg'in and U'darajhe had made off in his ship towards the infamous trading post. Finally, they had made it. The women were in pretty good shape, after U'darajhe left them alone. Setg'in had landed his ship well away from any prying eyes. The trading post was within a day's walking distance. He hadn't relished the thought of trekking on foot, but it couldn't be helped.

The ship's engines died down with a high pitched whine. Setg'in turned in his seat towards U'darajhe who was closing the hatches over the engine jets to protect them from the sand that threatened to clog them.

"So what's the plan oh great and wise elder?" U'darajhe asked, wasting no time grating the elder's nerves.

"The plan is that I need to travel alone. The ooman females cannot withstand these conditions without aid, and I need you to stay to defend them and the ship," Setg'in said as he made his way to the very small armory in the back of the ship, near the cooling and heating system.

"The trading post is one day's travel from this point, but I can ill afford this ship to be seen. It bears the mark of our clan, but I want no witnesses to that fact," he said, U'darajhe watching as the elder donned more mundane armor and weapons, forgoing the distinguished armor of an elder council member. Even the mask was non-descript, and none of it bore any notable symbol or mark of any kind. Setg'in could have been any old yautja.

Setg'in went into the women's chamber, stepping in to take a closer look at them. They looked as if they could use a meal, but other than that they bore no sign of abuse. Setg'in had seen to that by strictly forbidding U'darajhe access to them except to feed them and make sure that they washed themselves. If he stayed with them longer than Setg'in thought it necessary, he was demanded to come back to the front immediately. Setg'in came closer to them, kneeling before them and grabbing their faces in order to turn their heads from side to side in a quick inspection. They were fully conscious and aware of their surroundings. Good. Rising to his feet, Setg'in made his way to the hatch in order to leave, grabbing a canteen of water and a heavy cloak from a small compartment and putting it on before he actually opened the doors.

"I will come back within a few days' time, and I will have company. If I do not come back after five days, leave and head back to our clan ship. You can even tell them that I forced you to come with me. You can say whatever you want, because if I do not return within that time I will be dead," Setg'in said turning to look at the young hunter beside him.

"If I come back and you have mated either of those females I will kill you myself. They are integral to my plans, and I won't have you ruining it, do you understand that?" He asked, this time without all the sarcasm. U'darajhe really couldn't be trusted, but Setg'in had no other alternative.

"Go, take care of your business Setg'in. I will watch the ship and leave on the fifth day if you do not return," U'darajhe said, for once not trying to be a smart ass. Setg'in nodded and headed out, the wind whipping sand into the ship as soon as the hatch released.

Setg'in pulled the cloak closed and fastened it, not wasting time with pleasant goodbye's. He looked around briefly, not liking the bare landscape and the clear sightlines. If someone wanted to pick him off at a distance, they needed only to compensate for the speed of the wind. Setting his jaw, Setg'in started off at a trot, intending to run the entire distance. If he could shave even a few hours off of his travel time that would be welcomed. This desert was bare of any vegetation, and the only life was burrowed beneath the sand-like ground. Mostly they were insects, but the biggest danger was in the large worm-like creatures that also lived below the surface. Deep depressions in the sand were a tell-tale sign of their presence, and they were to be avoided at all cost. Setg'in switched the view in his mask to something like night vision, with the heat radiating from the ground obscuring his natural sight. He jogged at a medium pace, making sure not to need his water too soon. He was determined to make it to the trading post before a whole day could pass. With that thought in mind, he felt he could pick up his pace just a little without putting himself in a bad position.

* * *

The daily routine went something like this: Wake up entangled together in the bedding, take showers that were usually prolonged by some sort of sexual activity, eat in the mess hall, train in the kehrite, drop Jasmine back off at the apartment, go hunting, come back and clean or place the trophies, bathe, go to sleep which was usually delayed by some sort of sexual activity, actually go to sleep, wake up entangled together in the bedding, so on and so forth. The only time the routine was interrupted was when Jasmine came on her period and couldn't have any sex. Kujhade had to stay out of the apartment, because he said the scent drove him crazy for mating and that it was the scent of fertility. He was excited to think that she had become pregnant until she told him that for humans, this specifically meant that a woman wasn't pregnant. She told him he should worry about it if she ever missed her period, to which he replied that he would most definitely _not_ worry but be overjoyed if she would bear his sucklings.

They had gone on like this, settling into something comfortable for both of them, but Jasmine was bothered by something, and Kujhade could tell. She smiled at him, she listened in training, she willingly gave him sex sometimes when he didn't have to ask, but there was still something wrong. They were sitting at the mess hall table, still giddy from the not-quite-sex they'd enjoyed just before coming down to eat. The female server came over, and this time the plates were placed down before them with respect. She gave a single nod to Jasmine, which she returned, before walking off to attend the others.

Jasmine smiled across the table at Kujhade, contentedly swinging her feet as she ate a bowl of fruit before touching the meat. The thing she was eating looked almost like an eggplant, but tasted like a banana, and it was her favorite. For just a moment as she stared into his eyes, she seemed as if she were about to speak, then put her head down and took a bite of fruit instead.

"You seem to want to speak my mate, yet you did not. What is it?" He asked her.

Jasmine shook her head, and gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"It's nothing baby. I'm okay," Jasmine said. It wasn't a complete lie. Kujhade stopped eating and waited patiently. He had come to understand that when Jasmine said that she was okay when clearly she was not, all he had to do was wait. She would eventually tell him what he wanted to know.

She took a big bite, glanced up at Kujhade who was still looking at her and not buying her jovial attitude, and then dropped her eyes to her food.

"Why do you keep looking at me 'Jhade? Eat your food," she said almost shyly, still not looking at him. Kujhade said nothing at all. He wasn't to be sidetracked by other small talk.

Jasmine gave an exasperated sigh, as if his looking were pressuring her into answering. She looked him in the eyes, took a deep breath and said,

"I love you Kujhade,"

Silence. Then that blank stare that was both devoid of and filled with emotion, returned to his face.

"And this is why I won't say it. You know what, just forget it," Jasmine said, letting the irritated tone speak to her hurt feelings.

It was so conflicting. He was doing everything that a man does when he loves you, yet he refused to repeat it. Then she thought maybe she was just relying on her own customs. Maybe in his world actions really did speak louder than words, and she wondered if maybe she should just let it alone. But she couldn't stop wanting to say what she was feeling for him. Jasmine had fallen deeply and madly in love. It was as simple as that. It frightened the shit out of her that she could love something like him, and so quickly. All it had taken was a little nice treatment, and some good sex and he had her wrapped around his mandibles. Kujhade wiped his mouth with a towel and sat back to look at Jasmine across the table.

"Have I not taken care of you, protected you from harm, provided a safe shelter?" Kujhade asked, each word like an accusation. She put her head down, feeling as though she'd come across as ungrateful. He leaned in closer.

"Jasmine, have we not mated?" Kujhade asked with a tone as if he were pleading with her to see with her eyes what she wished to hear with her ears.

A large tear fell and hit the table, although she wasn't really crying. She was about to mumble an apology, when a clawed hand lifted her chin. He hadn't meant to cause that reaction.

"Jasmine, my mate. You are so small, and delicate, and in need of reassurance," he said softly, while stroking her cheek. Hearing him say that made her feel weak, and vulnerable. He had seen past everything into the depths of her. She both loved and hated that fact. She scrunched her face a little.

"I'm not delicate," she pouted.

"I hunt for you. When I am gone, I think only to come back to you. My trophies are for you now. My seed is only for you," he said, looking into her large wet eyes.

Jasmine leaned into his hand with a heavy sigh. She wiped her eyes and smiled at him warmly. He wanted to say those words to her. His heart clenched now as it did so often when he thought of her these days. The truth was love was something he associated with the hunt. The hunt had been the only thing worth living for, worth fighting for, worth dying for. It was his bearer and his sire. It was there for him when all else abandoned him. It was his true worth. It was what he excelled in. It made him a full member of the clan, even if only for a time. It was only when he returned from a hunt, covered in the blood of his kill with their skulls on his back, that his clan members looked at him with something other than contempt. It was the only time they acknowledged him as truly one of their own, and not merely one to be tolerated.

If you were alive, you were either a yautja or you were prey. He treated each accordingly. Coexisting with his kind, and killing his prey, but now he had someone in his life that was neither. Jasmine did not fit neatly into those categories, and he struggled at times with his feelings towards her. Not loving her was something he had learned. You don't love or feel affection, pity, or remorse for that which is worthy only to be hunted. Yet, love for her had crept insidiously into his heart until he could no longer deny it to himself. She was not bound by any tradition to ignore him, or marginalize him. She came to him in captivity, but had thrived anyway. In so doing she was teaching him things that were uncomfortable for him to learn. He knew about physical survival. He could withstand many harsh conditions, and situations that tested his considerable will to live. Jasmine was teaching him about survival of another kind. Survival in hostile territory. Survival of the spirit. This entire place was different for her, and only under threat of death did other yautja not harass her. He wondered if he would have fared so well had the tables been turned.

He had given thought to these things on many occasion, ever since their argument in the elevator. She had been more upset about a treatment that he had come to accept as normal and natural. A treatment that he may have even believed he deserved. In one moment of observation, she had seen and been able to give voice to all the things that roiled deep in his gut. He pushed those things away. It was tradition, and a yautja that did not stick rigidly to it was bound to go astray from his nature. Yet, even being with her was a break in tradition. Moreover, he planned to make her his life mate. To mate a human was a guilty pleasure that some males indulged in. But to go several steps further and dedicate oneself for life with a human was extremely rare, almost mythical. There were tales of it, but no one had ever seen it happen.

He sat back and allowed her to resume her meal. She seemed mollified by his words, happily eating and swinging her feet under the table, making sure to kick him slightly as she laughed at his feigned anger at being "attacked". When they were done eating, he took her by the hand. Instead of heading to the kehrite, Kujhade turned towards the ships main control bridge.

"Where we going 'Jhade? The kehrite is that way big boy," Jasmine said, giggling in her high pitched voice and pointing vaguely in the direction of the training ground.

"We are going to speak with Bakuub," he told her as she had to do a half skip, half jog to keep up with his long stride.

"Am I in trouble again?" Jasmine asked, suddenly concerned. The council members frightened her badly, as they had the power to decide her fate and they could decide whatever they wanted, and no one could stop them.

"No my mate, we are only going to talk," Kujhade said soothingly, slowing down so that she didn't have to struggle to keep up. Jasmine relaxed. If Kujhade said they were only talking, then they were only talking. She intertwined her fingers with his, and marveled at the fact that she got to see even more of the enormous ship.

* * *

He was almost there. He had run for hours, stopping only briefly to take a few sips of water, and then resume his trotting pace. Ahead he could make out the walls of the trading post. They extended in both directions, and the only gate had a watch tower perched on each side of it. Switching to his natural spectrum, Setg'in could make out the heat signatures of three beings per tower. He had armed himself with two discs among other weapons, and thought that if he had to, and if he timed it right, he could take out one group before the other tower was alerted to his presence. As it turned out he wouldn't need to do that yet. When he neared the gate, three shots rang out which landed just before his feet, stopping him in his tracks. Setg'in stopped but did not move. He saw that a few of the guards had moved to flank along and behind the wall, just in case the guards in the tower missed him somehow. Smart move, but he thought he could still survive an attack here and make it back to his ship if it all went south. You could never tell with these criminal types, what set them off and what didn't.

"Who are you, and what business do you have here?!" A voice called out in a language Setg'in didn't understand. Good thing his mask could translate most of what he heard.

Instead of answering or giving a name, Setg'in removed his mask, the hood of his cloak still partially obscuring his face. He let out a fearsome roar, knowing that a yautja roar was distinctive. He replaced his mask, pleased that the hostility in the voice lessened as the figure made a motion for the gate to be opened. It had to have been operating on an old chain and pulley system, as the rattle of the opening gate competed with the whistling howl of the wind. Marching forward, Setg'in approached the gate. The guards were comprised of a couple of different races, all of which he had at some point hunted and killed. That explained the hasty compliance. The yautja were feared by many as expected. They quickly averted their eyes, some of them heading back up to the watch tower, others trying to watch him and still remain incognito about it. Only one of them had the courage to still ask what business Setg'in had there. A large male approached and stood in front of Setg'in loosely barring his way. He was much taller standing at nearly ten feet or more, reptilian skin, four arms, and a head and snout that looked remotely like that of an alligator. An old model plasma gun was slung around his back, and he tried to look menacing. Setg'in gave him a quick once over, already having plotted how to kill him.

"My name is Thwei, and I am here to trade. This is the trade post is it not?" Setg'in told the large brute. The name Thwei just popped into his mind. There were a million Thweis, double that for Guans so no one would question such a common name.

"I see no goods," the brute said, looking about exaggeratedly.

"Turok!" One of the guards called from the stairs leading to the watch tower. Turok looked up. The guard was motioning him to leave Setg'in alone and come back to his post. Turok hesitated for a second, then did as he was bidden. Without anymore words Setg'in entered the trade posts main road.

It was a loud and bustling place. Members of many different races from all over the galaxies converged here to conduct their black market business. Up and down the dusty road, were stalls huddled together, filled from top to bottom with all manner of goods. He passed a few stalls that were covered, the merchant standing in front. Setg'in soon realized that these covered stalls held captives, mostly female, for sale as slaves. Speaking of females, there were plenty roaming the street, soliciting themselves either for money for their masters who were never far off, or they looked as though they were starving. Any female who had breasts were baring them, and if they didn't they exposed whichever parts of their bodies could give you the most pleasure. Setg'in moved past all of them, both not seeing them and paying attention to every detail. He vaguely thought about the women he was going to sell, and how they would probably end up either here or worse, and quickly pushed it out of his mind. They were bargaining chips. Payment. They were nothing more, and their fate did not matter in the grand scheme of things. Setg'in had always been a grand scheme kind of yautja.

He walked past every stall and merchant to reach the end of the main road he was on. It ended in a cluster of small shanties which stretched in both directions. If the main road ran North and South, then it was cut off by another main road that ran East and West. The cluster of shanties was busy, and music of a strange kind wafted out to meet Setg'in as he stood pondering in the middle of the street. If he had been privy to human entertainment media, he would have likened this place to something out of an old western film. Up and down the East West road, throngs of beings of every type moved in one direction or another en masse, some breaking off from the herd only to ogle over the various merchant's wares.

As he stood there taking in the sights, he noticed that everyone gave him as wide a berth as they could. As if by some unknown instinct, they knew what he was and what he was capable of, and steered clear. He supposed that shouldn't have surprised him. In many cases the yautjan reputation preceded them, and it was as it should have been. His prey should cower before him, but now was not the time to puff up with yautja pride over their collective hunting prowess. He was hunting right now, but it was a hunt of a different nature. A hunt where hopefully no one had to die, especially him.

He cast another look at the small shanties that were huddled together as if to protect one another against the wind that battered them. Giving himself a quick pat down to make sure his weapons were available at a moment's notice, Setg'in made his way towards the hovels with the music coming from them. It was there that he would find his quarry. It was there that he would find his son.

* * *

 **A/N: From here on out, I'm going to pick up the pace. We're coming around the bend, as things start going into motion. I hope you all are enjoying this story. I want to thank each and every one of you for your reviews, and for making this story my single lose viewed and revised story I've written to date. As of now I have 42 reviews and over 5100 views! You all don't know how wonderful that makes me feel. The fact you all have given me this much support, love, encouragement, feedback, and excitement touches my heart and warms it to no end. I actually, literally love you all for that, and I'm going to do my best to give you a story worthy of your time and energy. I hope I don't disappoint.**


	19. Access Denied

Outside in the twilight, the wind howled and raged. The surrounding walls of the trade city provided only meager refuge from its true fury. As the hours ran on indistinguishable between what was day and what was night, the winds grew stronger to almost gale force. Vaguely Setg'in wondered if U'darajhe had the sense to program the ship to anchor within the planet's surface. Regardless, he couldn't really think about that now.

Inside the small huddled buildings, the atmosphere was relaxed and unhurried. It was something like a bar, the likes of which Setg'in had never actually stepped foot inside of until now. Always when he traveled it was because of the hunt, or some other single-minded purpose. Never a leisurely trip just to learn about the local culture. The lighting inside the place were the comforting hues of reds and deep oranges that he was accustomed to. Deciding that perhaps he was being conspicuous just standing in the doorway as if he'd never been off of his home planet, Setg'in moved quickly but confidently to find an inconspicuous place to observe. To his left along the entire length of the wall was the actual bar, where individuals from various races sat along it with their backs to the room, seeming to tune out their surroundings as they drank round after round of whatever they were drinking. Spread out before him were round tables with raggedy chairs pull up to them. They were dispersed haphazardly and Setg'in had to weave through them to get the one empty space towards the back corner of the room. The seat was ideal as it looked outward over the expanse of the room that seemed a lot bigger than it should have been if you were judging from the outside.

Trying not to bring more attention to himself than he was foolishly doing already, Setg'in took a seat in a corner booth, where the occupant had left in a flash as soon as Setg'in's shadow fell upon it. Easing his rather large frame into the booth was an uncomfortable task, but he managed it. He pulled his cloak around him and allowed his hood to continue to partially hide his face. He figured all the yautja looked alike as far as others were concerned, but one could never be too careful in situations such as these. He removed his mask, resting it on the rickety table before him, his claws placed flat against the surface as he looked around. These beings were lost. These were the outcasts from their respective races or clans, doomed to a life that was comprised of nothing but existing from day to day, cycle to cycle. Most of them had no purpose to their lives anymore, and that made them either extremely dangerous, or extremely pathetic.

Suddenly Setg'in felt something caress and then wrap itself loosely around his leg. It surprised the hell out of him, but hundreds of cycles worth of hunting had given him much control over his reactions. Setg'in didn't flinch, but he did turn his head slowly to see a rare sight, and a sad one given the place. In human mythology they were called Gorgons, but Setg'in only knew them as Shirxa. They were strictly forbidden to hunt or kill due to their life cycles and the slow replenishing of their species. They were comprised of majority females, with a male only being born once every thousand or so cycles. That lone male was responsible for fertilizing the eggs of every female that he could within his short three cycle life span. It was his only function, and he died a slow death when it was completed. This Shirxa had taken a shine to Setg'in as he looked up to see her odd, but not unpleasant face smiling a seductive smile back at him. Had he not been on an important mission, Setg'in might have chanced it. There was a long held rumor that sex with a Shrixa was the stuff of legends, but it was also a fool's errand because it could very well end in death. It was said that they released a deadly venom upon orgasm, but if you survived it while still joined with one, she also released a small bit of anti-venom afterwards. It made sense then why the males always died. However, there was no time for games or getting sidetracked by a female. More gently than he would have rejected anyone else, Setg'in simply shook his leg indicating that he wanted to her release it, which she did with a disappointed hiss. Still she batted her eyes at him, her living hair moving about her face and head. He gave a single chuff in acknowledgement of her generous offer, so there would be no hard feelings of rejection. He then turned his attention back to watching the room and the occupants therein. The strange music continued to play, as everyone was engaged in either talking to their companions or ignoring everyone around them.

There must have been a few hours that passed, as Setg'in kept watch. He ordered a small meal that he swallowed quickly just for sustenance. He didn't know what would happen in the next few days, so took a meal now just in case he couldn't later. He thought briefly about searching the entire trade city, but thought that would be a fruitless waste of time. This seemed to be the watering hole of preference, and everyone who was in this place, eventually made their way to it. All he had to do was wait. The servant had brought him a container of what he supposed was water. Setg'in took one sniff and pushed it away. It was water, but from what source he could not tell. All he knew was that it had a foul odor that it shouldn't have, and he wasn't going to ingest it. Besides, he still had his original canteen of water and it was half full.

All the time he was sitting there, the place never became empty, although the occupants changed every few hours. A gust of wind rushed in as yet another small group of patrons walked in. Immediately, the tallest of the bunch caught Setg'in's eye. It was another yautja. At first Setg'in thought he was actually with this motley crew, until they all dispersed to different sections, and the yautja went to the bar alone. Setg'in took a moment to look this one over, and then suppressed a smile. The reddish speckles of coloring along his legs and arms gave him away. He took after his bearer, and she had been beautiful and deadly as Setg'in fondly recalled. Bhu'ja was his name now. He took it on in a fit of self-pity and melodrama when he was labelled a bad blood, claiming he was now a lost soul, a ghost among the stars. Setg'in had to roll his eyes just thinking about it. He figured the pup had suffered enough, and was prepared to at least promise to him the removal of that label if he performed this one task to satisfaction.

With a stealth skill honed over hundreds of years of hunting, Setg'in slid out from the booth and nearly glided across the room only to end up just behind Bhu'ja. He'd drawn his wristblades, pressing them flush against the neck of his son.

"You really should be more careful Bhu'ja. Had I a mind to kill you, you would be dead," Setg'in taunted. Then he felt something pressed against his abdomen. It was Bhu'ja's combi-stick.

"Perhaps, but I would have had the pleasure of taking you with me, Sire," Bhu'ja growled out. He hadn't seen his sire in many cycles, and could have done without the sight of him for many more.

Setg'in nodded in approval of the counter move and backed away a bit, sheathing his weapons.

"You have learned much I see," Setg'in said.

"And through all of your years you obviously haven't learned enough, if you thought showing up here was a smart thing to do. Speaking of that, what unfortunate series of events brings you here anyway?" Bhu'ja spat.

"I wonder if you would remain so bitter if I told you that I have come here to give you back your honor Bhu'ja?" Setg'in said, pleased at how quiet he became.

"Speak," Bhu'ja said, his interest officially piqued.

"We will, but not here. Is there a place where we can speak in private?" Setg'in asked. BHu'ja nodded.

"I have a camp that I use when I have business here. We can talk there, but know this," Bhu'ja growled as he turned fully around to face his sire. "If I find that what you have come to tell me is not pleasing to me, I will collect your skull for my wall."

* * *

Kujhade sat perched in the branch of a tree, the driving rain of this planet threatening to ruin the hunt. He was absolutely livid after the discussion with Bakuub. A simple request, denied flatly. He'd stormed out of the impromptu meeting, Jasmine in tow following him to the kehrite where the training had been rough. Maybe a little too rough, because by the time they were done she was bruised, battered and not talking to him out of fear. He had completely cowed her earlier, but he hadn't meant to. He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He was hunting fierce prey on a planet that seemed never to enjoy a single moment of dry weather. Kujhade heard a sound as if something were moving below him. He went completely still, scanning the ground for signs of his quarry. After several minutes passed without movement, Kujhade couldn't help the earlier conversation from playing over and over in his mind.

"Life mating ceremony? Kujhade have you been drinking hard meat blood?" Bakuub asked, an incredulous look on his face as he stared at the large oddly colored hunter. When Kujhade only gave him a blank look in return, Bakuub shook his head slightly in disbelief.

"No. I invited these women aboard mainly because I was thinking of you and your, condition," Bakuub stated as he relaxed into the main pilot seat on the bridge. Kujhade could have done with a more private setting to discuss this matter, but this was really as good a time as any.

"You can have your fun Kujhade, you've earned that much, but to life mate with a…ooman? That's going too far. Don't let the haze of mating an exotic female cloud your mind and good senses. You are yautja, and she is not. You would benefit by not forgetting that crucial fact," Bakuub said, his tone indicating that he expected this to be the end of the conversation. When Kujhade did not move to leave, Bakuub furrowed his thorny brow. He knew this look, and it always meant that Kujhade was going to stir the pot.

"I have not forgotten what she is Bakuub. However, she is willing to birth my pups…" he began and was immediately cut off.

"Birth your pups?" Bakuub said, almost seeming disgusted at the thought of a hybrid. "What makes you think she is strong enough to do that? You know what, it doesn't even matter because this conversation is over with Kujhade. Elite hunter or not, I've done everything in my power to accommodate you and your needs. I have provided you and many other males on this ship with relief. I have even prevented your female's death, going against many of my council. I will not now break with even more tradition just to please you. It is over. Have your fun, mate with her day and night until she collapses for all I care, but you are not to life mate her, and I will most certainly not oversee such an affront to all that we stand for." Bakuub said, turning around to attend other responsibilities.

"I have done nothing but stick to our ways, our traditions. It is tradition that keeps me from mating with our own females…"

"And you will continue to observe our tradition, until you meet the Black Death, or risk becoming outcast!" Bakuub roared, turning his chair around and getting into Kujhade's face in one motion. Kujhade didn't back down.

"Bring me one single yautja female who will mate with me even once, and bear my pup, and I will give Jasmine to any male who wants her," Kujhade said in an even tone. He looked Bakuub in the eyes, a definite no-no unless you wanted a fight. Bakuub growled menacingly, but otherwise did not act.

The tension on the bridge mounted, as the few yautja there went completely silent, their attention trained on the leader, and the outcast. Kujhade didn't like putting Bakuub in the spotlight like this. Since he was a young blood, Bakuub had been in his corner, encouraging others to at least give him a chance to prove himself in the hunt. It was to his own personal expense, since being associated with Kujhade placed a small blemish on Bakuub's standing among the clan. Kujhade appreciated that, and showed it through his rigid adherence to everything he was supposed to. He had even convinced himself that the way he was looked down upon, was the only correct, sane thing for any of them to do. However, now was his chance. He had a chance to sire pups with a female that was more than willing to do it. She had even accepted his hunting of her kind, a thing unheard of. He had a chance at having a mate, even though he was now only beginning to scratch the surface of what it would truly mean to be with her. There would be sacrifice, great personal sacrifice mostly to his honor, and he realized he had a lot to think about concerning Jasmine. She had come to him in captivity, and had grown to love him. Whether or not she could withstand or would stand with him through the coming hardships of just being together, only time would tell.

"Even if you did not have such a disfigurement, there is no way to guarantee that you would have had what you sought in any case. Not every male can mate, this you know Kujhade," Bakuub growled.

"You know as well as I do, that elite hunters get the first choice. Yet I have not, and we also know the reason for that as well. Bakuub, I have no choice in this matter. I must life mate with her," Kujhade said, his voice and stance not wavering in the least. This was exactly the same as facing down fierce prey, knowing well that this may be your last hunt.

"Tell me Kujhade, what will you do when she begs you not to hunt her kind? Will you deny your nature for her? You know that humans are weak in this matter, as they beg and plead for their lives. Is she even fully aware of what you are capable of?" Bakuub asked, certain of the answer he would receive.

"I have shown her my trophies, and she has accepted that from me Bakuub," Kujhade said, inwardly proud to be able to demonstrate Jasmine's mental strength in this matter.

"Even the human ones?" Bakuub asked, thoroughly taken aback by this revelation. Kujhade nodded.

"She has accepted her place, and my place as a hunter of her kind. I have no intention of abandoning the hunt in any way, and she has not expressed a desire to stop me," Kujhade stated. The look in Bakuub's golden eyes was unmoved.

"I wager that would change if she were to see it. If she were to witness, you ripping the spine and skull from a still struggling kill. Or if she were to see you skin your prey. I don't think that she would be so accepting after that," Bakuub said. "A yautja female however…"

"Yautja females have no bearing on this. They have rejected me, so therefore lay no claim to me, my seed, or who my mate is. I am not responsible for them, and my contribution to our bloodline is assumed to be tainted. So my choice is Jasmine, a human, a member of a species of prey that all of us hunt. I will mate with her and no one else, and I do not need your consent, nor that of the council to make that choice," Kujhade stated firmly. He turned to dismiss himself, a thing one didn't do without permission, but he was done caring about whether or not he was doing what others wished. He was doing what his instincts told him was correct, and if that meant death for him, or worse to be officially declared a bad blood, then that was a chance he had to take.

"This is a grave mistake young hunter! Do not throw away your honor for a female who can only bring you more dishonor, and hardship!" Bakuub called to a retreating Kujhade. He came out of the bridge, and grabbed Jasmine by the arm more roughly than he wanted, too angry to answer her very valid questions.

He shook those thoughts from his head, refocusing on the fact that he was now hunting and needed to pay attention to that. He heard movement in the underbrush below. The rain had slackened somewhat, now that it had officially impaired his cloaking device. He would need to be extra careful. The beast he hunted had excellent vision, given its many eyes, but its hearing was rather poor. It was a large hairless, four legged beast which often stood on its hind legs to reach the vegetation it ate. Kujhade was perched in the very kind of tree that it liked to eat from. It was a very dangerous way to hunt it, but coming at it head on was a sure way to be killed.

It finally came into view, but only partially. On its hind legs it stood nearly 30 feet. Kujhade was only perhaps about ten feet above it, when he saw the massive head peek through the underbrush and rise steadily up through the branches. The rain still fell persistently through the dense canopy of the tree tops, causing the massive animal to close at least six of its eyes. This was perfect. Kujhade waited, perched perfectly still holding his combi-stick out to his side, making it appear as just another branch. The tree swayed under the weight of the large animal, as it leaned its fore-claws against it, craning its neck in order to take a few large bites of leaves. It snagged a mouthful, coming just under Kujhade's feet to get it. Kujhade still did not move a muscle. It was imperative to time this perfectly. Anything less and he would meet the Black Hunter sooner than he wished. Swallowing what it had taken into its mouth, the beast reached in again, this time a little further up to get to the more tender leaves. It had to lean a little more against the tree, shaking it. Kujhade took the opportunity to stamp his feet a little, sending more drops of water down into the animal's face making him close more of his eyes. When it did, Kujhade sprung into silent action.

Kujhade leaped from his perch, like a swimmer about to do a swan dive. Just as he got past the large head, he tucked his body into a front flip, landing feet first on the beast's back. His spear plunged a little more than halfway into its back as Kujhade glided down, a gaping wound opening in his wake and the thing's murky brown blood covering him in a warm spray. It bellowed its strange low pitched warble, as it slammed itself against the trees in its path, trying desperately to shake Kujhade off of its back. The predator held on, knowing well that being thrown from his prey was not an option. He would never be able to mount it again, and the beast's bleating was loud and strong enough to produce a concussive blast. It deafened and disoriented you long enough to be trampled by it.

It had run Pell Mell through the trees out into a clearing, bleating and bellowing the entire time. Its large head swung from side to side trying to spot its attacker to no avail. Using his spear to anchor himself, Kujhade swung around and headed back up towards the head. It was much easier since the animal was running on all fours now. Kujhade made his way back up, stabbing it as he went to further bleed it out and weaken it. Between its shoulder blades, Kujhade stopped and plunged his spear in as deep as it would go, trying to reach its large heart. Letting loose another mighty howl of pain, the thing reared on its hind legs, trying anything to stop the attack. Kujhade took this opportunity to once again cut his way down its back, leaving a second impossibly long gash down its back. He was positively drenched in its blood, as the thing began to make a beeline towards a large body of water. He had to kill it before it got there. The waters on this planet were filled with deadly microorganisms, many of which could kill him before he could decontaminate himself.

Kujhade peeked up from amid its massive shoulders to judge how far they were from the water. They weren't far enough away. It was now or never. Not to mention its cries were drawing more of its kind towards it. That was the last thing Kujhade needed, was to deal with an entire herd of them. He plunged his spear once more, leaving it there as a hand hold. He aimed his shoulder cannon directly at the large creature's heart, blasting several times before it gave one last concussive blast, killing several smaller animals with it that were directly in its path. It fell head first into the sodden ground underneath it, sliding to a halt just before hitting the water. Kujhade wasted no time with celebrating his kill. It was too large to make the skull a trophy, but that wasn't what Kujhade wanted. The true prize was its clubbed tail, distinctive to its kind. However, Kujhade knew that he needed to work quickly while the large heart had a few more beats in it. Within the creature lived its parasites, every bit as deadly as the beast itself, and in greater number. They made their appearance only upon their host's death, pouring fourth from the dead carcass to attack anything unfortunate enough to within their poisonous range before they died a quick death.

Running down the length of the large brute, Kujhade finally dismounted. He used his disc blade to make quick work of cutting off the end of the tail. More murky brown blood gushed forth from the severed tail, as Kujhade tied the clubbed end to his back. It was nearly as tall as he was, and heavy. He took off at a full sprint back towards his ship, just as two more of the creatures burst through the trees into the clearing. Luckily they didn't seem to notice him, as he continued to run through the forest, eventually taking to the trees and leaping from branch to branch, until he came to a small glade where his ship sat, engines going and ready to take flight. Not wasting time to pre-clean his prize in the field, Kujhade hastily secured it in the small cargo hold before taking to the pilot's seat. His thoughts were only of Jasmine, as he took off back towards the main clan ship.

* * *

"So, please explain to me again how assassinating an honorable clan leader such as Bakuub, restores my honor. I must have missed that part," Bhu'ja said, giving his sire a hard glare. Had he come all this way just to dishonor himself with lies before meeting his death?

"Indeed you missed the part where I become the clan leader, and pardon you completely of your past crimes. My word will be law where you are concerned, therefore your honor will be restored," Setg'in said, tired of explaining it. Bhu'ja would either accept or not, but he would not linger here longer than he needed to.

"To show you that this is no mere game, I have brought your payment," he said, pleased at the intrigued look that Bhu'ja gave him.

"And what might you have that I want?" Bhu'ja asked, more interested than he wanted to let on to his scheming sire.

"Females. Ooman. Two of them. I hear they are profitable in your line of…business," Setg'in said, hoping this would be the last thing he needed to say to get this deal made. Bhu'ja sat near the edge of his seat, mandibles working their way into what passed for a devious smirk.

"Say no more," he said as Setg'in rose to his feet.

They had been sitting in a small tent like structure that passed for Bhu'ja's temporary camp. His ship was nearby. It was one of the very old models with the mist perpetually swirling at your feet. It rumbled to life as the two yautja made their way out of the tent and towards it. The hatch opened to a ramp, and Bhu'ja quickly boarded it, while Setg'in hung back.

"Do I need to tell you that I don't trust you, and that you need to come with me or one of us dies here?" Bhu'ja asked over his shoulder, as he secured his mask. Setg'in smiled under his. The pup had grown up.

"No, you don't but we need to hurry, there is much to do," he said as he boarded the old ship. Bhu'ja scoffed.

"Maybe _you_ have much to do. I only have one job and that is to kill Bakuub. Now come," he called as the hatch doors complained as they sealed shut.


	20. Through His Eyes

Jasmine lay huddled in Kujhade's bed, both waiting for and dreading his return from his hunt. The trainings that he had been putting her through were always rigorous, but the last one was just brutal. He had raked her back, just enough to make the blood well inside the cuts and scab over later. Her arms and legs were littered with bruises, and her fingers were cut from trying to draw her bow. She would need guards for her hands.

He had brusquely ordered her to soak in the tub to heal her body, and she had obeyed. Whatever medicine was floating around in the water tingled her all over, like bathing in a bit of mint oil. It outright burned the cuts, but she thought if she didn't bear the pain they might get infected or something. By the time she had gotten out of the tub, Kujhade was gone and he had remained gone for quite a while.

For the first time since those first few days around him, Kujhade had actually frightened her. It all started after he went to have a talk with the clan leader. At first she was in the room with them, but when it seemed like the conversation was going downhill, they made her wait outside the bridge. She couldn't hear them as she waited, but she did hear raised voices that didn't sound too happy. They must have argued maybe fifteen minutes, but when Kujhade stormed out of there in a cream and green blur, she knew it wasn't good.

Once they'd gotten to the kehrite, Kujhade's usual patience with her human frailty was at an all-time low. He thrust her right into the midst of a group of older pups who were sparring. They were referred to as "pups", but they were really more like young adults preparing for their chivas. They took her one on one, after Kujhade barked the order that she was not to be seriously injured. They tossed her around like a rag doll, her only defense against them was her speed, and surprising level of agility. She could get out of the way sometimes, but when she couldn't she paid dearly for it. Kujhade hadn't seemed pleased with the performance, telling her that she spent too much time evading, and not enough time even defending, let alone attacking. When she protested that she wasn't physically strong enough to contend, he'd growled threateningly at her. She didn't dare speak again, recalling that his mood had been foul since before training.

If she had forgotten or allowed herself to become too comfortable with the idea of him, that span of a few hours was all the reminder she needed. Kujhade was not human, and it was sometimes easy to forget just how dangerous he really was, when he was holding you and caressing you with the very hands that could end your life in a matter of seconds. It was difficult indeed to remember, when he used all that power and strength to please you instead of using it to tear you literally limb from limb. It was like being in love with a lion. Everything was all cool until suddenly it wasn't. One wrong move, one time you got too comfortable, one time you forgot who you were dealing with, and the lion would remind you of just who the hell he was, and the reminder would always be swift and deadly.

She had accepted him though, and she would not go back on it just because he was being what he was. It was like blaming the lion for being a lion. He was the king of the African plains. He hunted and killed without remorse, pity, or apology simply because it was not only his nature, but his right. Hell, it was his right _because_ it was his nature. The lion would never shed tears for the zebra, or the impala, or the wildebeest. Jasmine had come to grips with the fact that he simply could not be held to the standard of her moral compass. It just didn't work. He didn't struggle with the moral dilemma of killing, because it wasn't a moral issue. Lions killing hyenas was not a moral issue. It was simply the order of things.

These thoughts were running through her head when the doors of his private quarters hissed open, and then shut behind him. Jasmine sunk down even further into the pelts in his bed, making sure to cover herself all the way up to her eyes. She watched as he passed by without a word, carrying something large and foul smelling on his back. Whatever that smell was, he was coated in it, and it was all Jasmine could do to keep her stomach from divorcing itself from its contents. Thankfully he went into the trophy room, taking that horrid smell with him. He didn't stay in there long. He came back out and went directly to the tub to clean himself. She heard him in there cleaning himself thoroughly. She looked over to the trophy room, and discovered that he had left it open, something he never did. That strange mist wafted out just past the threshold of the doorway. Jasmine took a peek towards the bathroom and listened. He was still washing, as she could hear the water sloshing a bit.

Easing up out of the pit, Jasmine tip toed towards the trophy room, always keeping a watchful eye on the bathroom. She didn't even know why she was trying to go in there, but something was driving her. Maybe it was just morbid curiosity that had her up, and trying to see something gory. She made it to the trophy room without incident. Quietly as possible, she was still tip toeing when she got in there. The large thing he had was laying on the pedestal table, and several nozzles were trained on it, spraying and misting it. The smell had died down enough to be tolerable, although she didn't get too close. She also never tried to touch it. These belonged to him, and she knew that he really kept a close guard on them.

Jasmine stood there as if in a trance. It was amazing and horrible all at the same time. From the looks of things, it appeared to be a tail. What kind of beast did he kill, that he could only bring a part of it and that part was bigger than her? She hadn't heard him come in. It was the low rumbling growl that grabbed her attention, and made her turn around. Kujhade was standing in the doorway, taking up all the available space. His eyes were fixed on her, the low light in the room reflecting in them and creating animal eye shine. She sucked in a sharp breath, and brought her hand to her heart.

"I didn't hear you come in, scared me," she said, trying to force a cute smile and not quite succeeding. Kujhade growled low in response, and took a few steps towards her. Instinctively Jasmine backed up, her heart starting to race a little. He was acting very strange and it was truly scaring her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I mean, I just wanted to see…" she tried, weakly gesturing her hand towards his newest trophy. He followed the motion of her hand, then brought his eyes back to her face, and growled again.

So, she wanted to see did she? The truth of the matter was that his conversation with Bakuub had weighed heavily on his mind, even though he hadn't wanted it to. One thing he said was that she wouldn't be so accepting if she could witness what he did, and how he did it. There were only two ways to show her. She could come with him on a hunt, which wasn't going to happen anytime soon. It would be like taking a suckling with him, and he just wasn't going to do that. The only other alternative was to show her his hunting. He took recorded footage of every hunt that he did, and he had them all archived. He could show her those, see if she could handle that. If not, then perhaps this pairing was as doomed as Bakuub had suggested. He made another step towards her, and she in turn took another step back.

"'Jhade, you're scaring me," Jasmine said, unable to predict what he would do.

He was well aware that he was scaring her. He was meaning to do it. She needed to be reminded of what she was dealing with. He hadn't intended to hurt her at all, but she was too comfortable. Or perhaps, he was the one who had gotten too comfortable. That thought made him uncomfortable, and he growled in response. He took another two steps towards her, and she all but stumbled over the table and into his mounted trophies trying to get away from him. He could smell her fear starting to come off of her in waves, and he could also feel her inner conflict. She didn't want to be afraid of him, but she also couldn't ignore her own instincts and natural response.

Jasmine couldn't even speak anymore. Nothing she said seemed to be penetrating at all. He had turned on her, like a wild animal. She didn't know what to think. She recalled all those tender moments, the wonderful sex, the tender things he did, the way he protected her. Only to now turn on her, and she didn't even know what she had done to deserve it. It seemed he couldn't make up his mind on whether he wanted to be nice to her, or rip her to shreds as his nature probably dictated. After all, how long can the lion ignore the tender gazelle in his grasp? Only a few measly months it seemed. However, Kujhade was no mere lion. He had his predatory nature surely, but he also had intellect. It may not be a moral issue for him whether or not he killed her, but she would make it an issue of honor before he did. She had been observant enough to know that honor meant a lot to him, and she was going to bring it to the forefront no matter how completely terrified she was becoming.

"You said you loved me Kujhade. Maybe you didn't use those words, but you said it just the same," she said firmly, even though her nerves made her voice wiggle a bit. He advanced a little. Her back was against his trophy wall, and she had nowhere to run. He was quick, and she knew she could not get around him. She was trapped.

"Don't you mean what you say? Isn't it dishonorable to lie?" She said, and that stopped his slow advance. She was shaking violently, hoping that he would listen to her pleas.

"Kujhade please," she said, trying not to whimper. "What about us? What about our kids? What about the life you said you wanted with me? Now you want to kill me," Jasmine said, her hands stretched out in front of her in a feeble defense. She was unable to keep the tears from her eyes, and the emotion from her voice.

She had come to find that she wanted a life like that with Kujhade. It was strange and wonderful, and she knew it wouldn't be easy, but she wanted it. She wanted to be the one to give him the children he desired, and the love and acceptance that he so clearly needed.

What the hell was he even doing right now? She thought he would kill her, but what else was she supposed to think? He was growling and stalking her, and had cornered her in a small room. He was acting crazy, all in some wayward attempt to test what she would do. She was doing the only thing she could, cower before him. He had that thought, but it came without any sense of pride on his part. She was cowering, but there was nothing pathetic about it. In fact, she was only physically submitting, but she was fighting back with her words. She was showing her ability to think clearly, even in the grips of fear, and she was terrified out of her mind. Yet, while her voice did waver with that fear, she meant every word and was speaking them clearly.

How dare he? How dare he promise her protection, and make love to her, and take care of her, and make her feel guilty for questioning his love for her, only to do this? Only to try to kill her, intimidating her before the final act no less. Angry tears fell from her eyes as she gathered the courage to look him in the face. She put her hands down, and shaking almost violently, she stood and tried her best to square her shoulders. If he killed her, she would make sure he did so while she was standing on her feet, and not cowering on her knees.

"You fucking bastard," she began, hardly believing that she was standing here sealing her own fate.

"You wanna kill me? Well you fucking get to it then. If you want me to beg you, then you should fucking hold your breath and rot while you wait for it," she said, anger getting the better of her good senses.

"You can go ahead and do what you do best Kujhade, but before I check out of this bitch, I'm gonna let you know that you're a fucking liar. You lied about loving me, you lied about wanting kids with me, you lied about wanting to keep me safe, you lied about everything you told me. So go ahead….liar. Pull out your lying ass weapons, and do your little killing that you like so much….liar." She said, and went silent. Her eyes were blurry with so many tears she couldn't really even make him out. Her chest heaved with dread, and fear, and hurt, and anger, and anticipation of sure death. Her small fists balled at her sides, her nails digging into her palm.

He'd finally stopped growling. His mandibles clicked together seemingly in thought about what she was saying. Bakuub's words and his insinuations about Jasmine's humanity being her weakness, played through his mind non-stop. Only, he was wrong about that. She could not contend with him physically, yet here she was standing up in the face of what she thought was her death. This was what made her kind worthy of the hunt. They strived and persevered against the odds, drawing upon strength and courage to fight. Sometimes, they even bested great hunters, due to their resourcefulness, and their ability to suppress their fear in order to function. He was seeing this same quality in Jasmine, as she stood before him, a small female that could no more hurt him than a suckling could.

He was being a fool. How could he allow someone else to tell him about his mate? It was he, not Bakuub, that listened to her at night when she told him her secrets, when she told him of the things she survived. It was he that saw how she never gave up in the kehrite despite being beaten again and again. It was he who saw her pick up the bow he had repaired for her, and in just a few short days go from missing the target wide, to hitting moving targets with decent accuracy. So far, all his intuition regarding her inner strength had revealed itself to be true. There was only one last thing, one last test of her will. She had to see his hunts.

Before she could even scream or move, Kujhade had grabbed her hand and nearly dragged out of the trophy room. She struggled until it became clear that he wasn't actually hurting her. He had brought her to what she thought of as the living room now, the large glass window the only thing separating them from the darkness of space. Along the wall was a control panel that she couldn't read. It was on the wall just above the narrow mantelpiece, or at least that's how she thought of the narrow ledge coming from the wall. It was on this narrow ledge where he charged his mask and uploaded its data. It was also the same place she put her iPod when she wanted to charge or play it. He accessed it with a few clicks, and a large, holographic screen appeared on the wall above the panel.

Jasmine was still trying to gather her wits, as the adrenaline started to run its course through her system. At first she couldn't make out what she was looking at. It was all shades of red and blurry. Vaguely she could make out shapes. It wasn't until a few minutes passed that she realized she was looking at things through someone else's eyes, Kujhade's eyes.

There was no sound, thank goodness. She could see the ground below. She recognized the scenery, even in infrared. It was New York. The view seemed high up as if he were perched on a high ledge. When he took a look around, she saw the World Trade Centers, so this was prior to 9/11. Suddenly the ground was coming up fast. He had jumped or something because he was in free fall. He landed maybe in an alley or something, she couldn't really tell. All she knew was that he was standing in some narrow space like a corridor. The view moved forwards, opening up upon a large area. She could see shipping containers, and what looked like the silhouette of ships. He was at the docks.

She saw the silhouetted images of several people. Some of them were standing and had guns, and they seemed to be pointing them at some other people who were kneeling or crouched on the ground in front of them. Suddenly on the borders of the screen, wiggly lines that served as the visual representation of sound, appeared. She couldn't hear it, but apparently at that time Kujhade was listening, and maybe even deciphering what was being said.

After a few moments assessing the scene, he sprang into action. It was like watching her brother Marcus play one of those first person shooter games he loved so much. Only this didn't come with a reset button and the enemies would not respawn. One by one, the people methodically went down. She could see red little flashes coming from most of the ones standing. They were shooting at Kujhade. The people on the ground were trying to get away, some of them being shot by the people who had surrounded them in the first place. Some of them stayed on the ground so as not to get caught in the deadly crossfire. Jasmine watched with wide eyes, as her lover went through those people like a hot knife through butter. They were shooting at him and hitting him. She saw that as his point of view changed briefly to quickly assess his own damage. He never stopped moving. He was using his wrist blades for up close, wading in through the gunfire to get to his prey.

Soon, everyone was dead except some of the people on the ground. However, they had the misfortune of facing down Kujhade, who was many times worse than the men they were dealing with before. Jasmine raised a hand to her mouth, her eyes glistening above it. Kujhade had reached down to pick up a woman by the throat. She had apparently been able to grab one of the downed men's weapon, and had turned it on Kujhade. A very bad move. It seemed as though he was going to kill her, but then his vision changed. He was switching through spectrums, and was looking her over. When he looked down, Jasmine saw something that took her breath away. The woman was pregnant. Kujhade had used some sort of x-ray vision, and he saw her fetus. Jasmine's hand went absently to her abdomen. Kujhade dropped her, and she scampered away from him as quickly as possible. He did more scanning of the small group of people before him. No one seemed to have any physical problems, but he spared them anyway. At first Jasmine didn't understand that. Didn't he want to hunt? These were easy prey after all. They weren't even armed. Then it hit her. They weren't even armed. That was the difference between who he killed and who he didn't kill. They were too easy of prey, no sense in killing them since they couldn't even put up a decent fight.

She was about to turn away, until she realized there was more. Kujhade's attention had turned to one of the men he'd killed. He picked the man up, then perhaps he jumped or something because soon he was back on higher ground. In the distance, she could see things coming his way, a series of what looked like lights were flashing. The police maybe. Kujhade was looking at the dead man whom he had laid on what she guessed was one of the shipping containers. He turned the man over on his stomach, and then proceeded to do something that made Jasmine gasp in horror. With his bare hand, Kujhade reached down into the dead man's back and in one smooth motion, ripped the entire spinal column from him, complete with the skull intact.

The feed stopped. Jasmine stood there, now with both hands clasped over her mouth, staring at the blank wall in shock. That wasn't a game, and it wasn't a movie. Kujhade had killed at least ten people by her count, in less than six or seven minutes, and had ripped one of them apart for the trophy. The prize in the cereal box. Neither of them moved, and only her breathing could be heard. He'd shown her his trophies, which she had accepted, now he was showing her just exactly how they'd gotten there. She wondered which one belonged to the gangster. She heard his clicking, but she didn't turn around. Jasmine had imagined what his hunting was like, and had imagined who he killed. But seeing it, even in his weird visual spectrum was a very different story.

Long minutes passed as Jasmine still didn't turn around. Kujhade didn't move either, but she could feel that he wanted her to say something. It was just like when he'd shown her the trophy room. She turned around finally, to see him standing there with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He was watching her intently, with that look he always had. Jasmine stalked over to him, and smacked him hard across the face. He reeled back more in surprise than in any sort of pain. His eyes were wide, and his mandibles splayed.

"That was for scaring me earlier," she said, her nostrils flaring and her jaw clenching. She angrily wiped a small tear from her cheek. Then she smacked him again.

"That was for not believing me the first time. I told you I accepted you didn't I? Don't you think I know how you get trophies?! I know you kill shit Kujhade, that's what you do! But I also know there's more to it than that! I know there's more to you than that, but you have to trust me!" She said, her voice going up as she screamed.

Kujhade suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, and just stared into her face. Bakuub was wrong, so utterly wrong. Jasmine had seen the hunting of her own kind, and had responded in a way that made his chest ache. At every turn she proved her worth, her strength, her acceptance of him on all levels. He thought surely that she would turn from him, run away from him, but she had done neither of those things.

"I love you 'Jhade, so don't try to turn me away. Don't scare me anymore, because it's not fair," Jasmine complained, her voice soft again, her eyes softer.

How could he have been such a fool? She professed her love for him even after this. He was at once filled with so many nameless, strange emotions. They threatened to overwhelm him, a thing he had never experienced before. He scooped her up in his arms, and carried her to his bed. He lay her down gently and began caressing her, purring, and running his mandibles through her hair.

"Forgive me my mate," he rumbled to her as he looked into her face.

"It's not okay that you wanted to scare me Kujhade, but I do forgive you for it," she said with a serious tone of voice. He nodded his understanding.

"I promise I will not intentionally frighten you anymore," he said earnestly.

She did not cover him with her soft kisses as he was accustomed to, but was this not to be expected after his display? He needed to earn that once more, and he was determined to do exactly that. It would start in this bed. Kujhade made love to her for all he was worth, pouring all of his emotion into the act. He did not stop until she begged him to, and when they were finally done it was Jasmine that indicated that it was alright for him to touch her afterwards. The next morning found them entangled in the pelts of his bedding once more.

* * *

Jasmine awoke to find him simply staring at her. It was sweet and creepy at the same time, because she couldn't read his emotions on his face. She was laying on top of him, naked but blissfully warm and wrapped securely in his arms.

"What are you thinking about 'Jhade? She asked. He blinked a couple of times, then just didn't say anything.

"You know, you're not out of the woods from that stunt you pulled yesterday, so if I were you, I'd get to talking," she said, jabbing a finger on his chest playfully.

He leaned his head back, and looked at the ceiling. He seemed to let out a sigh, and then got into a sitting position, with her ending up in his lap.

"Did you hear anything or understand any of the talk I had with Bakuub?" He asked. Jasmine pursed her lips in thought. They had booted her out of the room so fast, she hadn't even processed what they were there for. Kujhade had made it seem very important, and had alluded to the fact that it would make her happy.

"Not really. All I know is after that talk, I didn't recognize you. It must have made you very angry," she said. His energy changed briefly and his muscles tensed, but it was over as quickly as it had come.

"It made me angry, but I behaved like a young blood fool. I will not act with dishonor anymore where it concerns you," he said earnestly. She nodded and rubbed his shoulders soothingly.

"I was asking him to," Kujhade said, pausing as if it were something difficult he needed to say. He then grabbed her by her small shoulders.

"Jasmine, no matter what anyone says, we are mates," he said as if it were urgent that she know that.

"I know that baby," Jasmine reassured him. He shook his head at her. He wanted to ask, but no, he would not give her the chance to reject. He would not ask, but demand.

"Jasmine, we are life mates and that is final. Do you understand?" He said, very slightly shaking her, his voice urgent.

"What do you mean 'Jhade? We're mates already, what are you talking about?" She asked. There was something very important here, and she couldn't help but feel like an idiot for not seeing what had to be obvious.

"Life mates, we are now life mates Jasmine, do you understand this?" He said. He was starting to raise his voice, but not in anger.

Jasmine at first was puzzled, then it all dawned on her. He said life mate, not just mates. He wanted to be with her always, or at least that's what it seemed.

"Kujhade, are you asking me or telling me?" She asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

He looked at her, almost like a scolded puppy. He was indeed telling her, not asking.

"Are we still doing this then? You didn't think I was going to agree, so you made it a command rather than a question, didn't you?" Jasmine asked. The way he looked away, as if now disinterested in the whole conversation, let her know that she was correct in her assumption.

"Well, I've got news for you. Wanna know what my answer is to your non-question?" She asked him with a straight face, feigning anger. She enjoyed the way that his eyes seemed to be almost worried about what she would say.

"Well, do you wanna know or nah?" She asked again, this time a little more insistently.

"Sei-i," he said strongly.

"My answer is," she said, as she leaned forward and kissed his lower jaw. His eyes closed in relief. Even his short time without her kisses had plagued him. He had missed it sorely.

"Yes, Kujhade. I'll marry you, okay? We can get married," and she could hardly believe she was uttering those words to a male that was not even human. Kujhade pulled back, not understanding the word "married".

"What is this married you speak of? A human term?" He asked her, genuinely wanting to know.

"Yep, for us life mating is called 'getting married', and that's what we're going to do. We're gonna get life mate married!" Jasmine exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck, and showering him with kisses, which he reveled in, purring loudly the whole time. Once again, he hadn't needed to worry at all. Jasmine loved him, and it was high time that he started trusting her when she said it.

* * *

 **A/N: So, what do we think of Kujhade's little flare up? I think Jasmine handled it very well considering.**


	21. Red Flag

**Two Weeks Later:**

* * *

U'darajhe came slithering back first. It had been just over two weeks since they'd all left the trading post planet. He was worn out from just being around Setg'in, and his son. Bhu'ja was worse than his sire, if such a thing be possible. Unlike Setg'in, Bhu'ja had little desire to operate behind the scenes. He liked to do what he did out in the open, making a show of flouting the customs of his kind. They had both showed up only a day or so after Setg'in had set off. When Bhu'ja was presented with the two ooman women, he had mated them so roughly, that U'darajhe felt sorry for them. Their screams filled the small ship, bouncing off the walls as he and Setg'in were forced to listen. When Bhu'ja was done, he declared them fit enough to be sold, had left for another two days, then had come back to finalize the plans.

It was simple really. Setg'in would make his way towards the planet where the chiva was to be held, the seeding process almost completed. That was where he was supposed to be in the first place, and needed to make a notable appearance. U'darajhe would take a ship that Bhu'ja procured for him, and Bhu'ja himself would get back to the clan ship on his own before the both of them could make it back. He would blend in with everyone else. The clan ship was so populated, that one lone wolf yautja would not be of any major concern. It was common for such yautja to come to large clan ships in order replenish their supplies, find a possible mate, or do any bidding of the clan leader in order to actually join the clan if they wished. No one knew who Bhu'ja was, so it would be easy to infiltrate and then wait until the perfect time to kill Bakuub.

Setg'in was very adamant that Bakuub not be killed until after the chiva, as he would be expected to ultimately over see it. This chiva was a bigger deal than most others, because this one boasted multi-clan involvement. Not only would there be unblooded yautja from Bakuub's clan, but also unblooded from at least four other clans. This was why the seeding process was taking so long. Enough hard meats needed to be bred in order to provide everyone a fair chance at achieving blooded status. However, infestations of hard meats were easy to start, and hard to get rid of, so there were many elite warriors and council members from each clan present to oversee the process. After the chiva was the best time to kill Bakuub, not before where there would be too much confusion and anger.

U'darajhe had just come from the hangar and was heading to his own quarters, when he heard a soft hissing sound. He was going to just ignore it until he heard it again. He was almost to the elevators when he decided to kill whatever was making that sound. He did a really quick scan, only to find one of the women standing off to the side. Why was she here? There was nothing for a human down around the hangars. He extended his blades and stalked towards her. Let him be branded a bad blood if need be, but he had every intention of killing the woman that was sneaking around down here. He wasn't in the mood to be trifled with, and she would be the one to pay for it.

"Whoa, whoa, now, hey. I'm on your side big guy," Brenda pleaded, looking around to see if she was being watched. Only a deep growl answered her.

"You are not on my side, and my name is U'darajhe," he gritted out. He was starting to really loathe this one too, and even though he fully recognized her, he still tossed the idea of killing her through his mind. She straightened up a bit.

"Hey it's not my damn fault you couldn't get the pussy that day and caught a beat down," Brenda said, backing up with nowhere to go in the small hallway. U'darajhe backed her up flush against the warm metal wall.

"What did you say ooman?" He growled, reveling in the fact that she was scared, but too stupid to know when to keep her mouth shut.

"That wasn't my fa-OOF!" The back of her head smacked the wall.

It was a light back handed tap for U'darajhe, but it bloodied her lip and it swelled immediately. She looked up at the large male, her eyes flashing anger, but she was smart enough not to repeat it.

"You didn't have to hit me," Brenda said, wishing she could just do away with him right at this moment.

"You shouldn't make it so easy," he teased, liking how angry she was, and her frustration at not being able to do anything about it.

"Now, do you have anything to tell me about Kujhade's little lou'dte kale?" He asked a still glowering Brenda.

"Her and that pale yautja of hers are getting married, I mean, life mating. Bakuub said no, but they're gonna do a small ritual anyway, maybe in a week or so," Brenda offered, her words clipped. The alien male seemed to ponder over that for a moment.

"How do you know all this?" He asked her.

"How the hell do you think I know? The little bitch tells me everything," Brenda said, raising her voice a little, but keeping an eye out for U'darajhe's hand.

"You still want her?" Brenda asked.

"Yes," he answered honestly. He wanted Jasmine now more than ever. Kujhade should have played nice. He was only going to mate her a little roughly before, now he was going to kill her if he got his claws on her now. If for no other reason than to make Kujhade suffer.

"I don't know what's so special about her anyway," Brenda said sulkily. She was rubbing her lip.

"Kujhade has her, and he shouldn't have anything that the rest of us do not," U'darajhe said flatly.

"You all really hate him that much, just because he's a different color? That's pretty fucked up don't you think?" Brenda asked, then flinched back as he raised his hand threatening another slap.

"Okay, okay, fine," she said, not wanting to be hit anymore. U'darajhe liked to be abusive for the hell of it. If he were a human man, he'd be a wife beater.

"I need to know that we still have a deal, U'darajhe. If I can bring you Jasmine, you will take me back to Earth. You gave your word," Brenda pleaded again.

"Yes, it still stands, but only if you bring her to me," he said, as he turned away from her on his way back to the elevator.

"Are you going to kill her?" She asked. She had to know what she was sending Jasmine into.

"If I were to kill her, or spare her life, would that change our deal?" U'darajhe asked, over his shoulder.

Let's see, was Jasmine, a girl she barely knew, worth her only chance to get back to Earth? She only needed a second to think about it.

"No," she replied, and a shiver went down her own spine.

This was a new low, but then she had never been in such a dire situation before. Jasmine could play the good alien housewife if she wanted to, find her happily ever after in the stars and all that bullshit. Brenda knew she didn't have it as good, and would never. She hated these bastards. They talked a good game about honor, but she found that only a few had any. Not that she was operating with so much of it, but still.

"I didn't think it would change anything. Let me know when you have her," he said again over his shoulder, and kept going to his quarters.

Brenda waited until he left before taking an elevator back to Mar'cte. When she got there, he was there and she could not face him. He was in a good mood as usual, and he was chattering on and on about Kujhade's life mating ritual that he was going to have right after the chiva. He was the only one happy about it aside from the loving couple themselves. Brenda pretended to listen, nodding and smiling in the right places, but inside she was seething. Above all, Jasmine was a traitor to her own kind. She had admitted to Brenda that she accepted these monsters. Kujhade had shown her his trophies, and the stupid young little bitch was okay with it. Who the fuck makes themselves okay with something like that? It was sick, is what it was, and she was fucking delusional. Brenda was the queen of going along to get along, she had been doing it since they all got kidnapped, but what Jasmine was doing was ridiculous. These things weren't human. The only thing they were good for was a roll in the hay. Beyond that, Brenda didn't want anything to do with them or being on the fucking ship, or trying to fucking marry one of them. The fact that Jasmine had bought into this fantasy world she was living in, gave Brenda all the justification she needed to send the little naïve whore to her death. Hell, she might even have been doing her a favor.

* * *

"You seem to be distracted. Are you not pleased over the fortune of your human friend?" Mar'cte asked Brenda. He was flitting around like a big alien gnat as far as Brenda was concerned. He was in and out of his trophy room, that crazy mist floating all around. She had only been in his quarters with him for less than an hour, and he had barely cast a fleeting glance at her. She disliked the predators, but there was something about how he didn't pay her much attention that bothered her a little. She didn't want any of them as her 'man', but Mar'cte could at least act like he was interested in her beyond a good screw. She shook the thought from her head. She didn't want him really, and it was best they keep this little fling as just that…a little fling. Brenda smiled a small, fake smile that hurt her swollen lip.

"If she's happy I'm happy. Although calling her my friend is a little much. We only met because we were brought here," she said, the resentfulness of the situation reading on her voice. Mar'cte either didn't catch it, or didn't care about it.

"Which male did you run into that gave you a mark on your face Brenda?" Mar'cte asked casually as he disappeared into his trophy room carrying something. The question caught her off guard, but she quickly recovered.

"I don't know his name, but he hit me when I told him I no longer serve the entire ship anymore," she lied, hoping that he would be satisfied with that answer. He seemed to be okay with it, as he began trilling and purring to himself as he tended to his gruesome trophies. He had not offered to show them to her, and she certainly didn't ask.

For a long time, at least fifteen minutes Mar'cte did not reply. He busied himself in his trophy room, and Brenda could have just gagged at how damn happy he sounded. When he finally emerged, he stood at the doorway of the room, and stared at her for a moment. Then he opened all of his mandibles, and took a big whiff in her direction.

"It is interesting that you do not know U'darajhe's name, yet you have been in his presence recently," Mar'cte said, his usual mirth reading on his face. Brenda's head snapped up in his direction, as she turned an alarming shade of red. She moved her mouth, about to stammer out some explanation when Mar'cte held up a hand.

"I do not need you to tell me anything. The fact that you believe me to be blind to all that you do, is enough for me," he said as he made his way to her. Brenda backed away, not knowing what to expect. His words and his mood seemed to be in severe conflict with each other.

"I have not lived more than three hundred years, nor hunted a thousand hunts to be outsmarted by a lou'dte kale with no honor," Mar'cte said as he stepped over to Brenda.

All the living quarters were made the same. He had come from the trophy room over to the large window in his own place, backing her up against it. He wasn't much taller than her, and even though he seemed perpetually happy, there was something about him that seemed thin. Like that happiness was a thin cover for the psychosis underneath. The happiest yautja that she had ever seen on the ship, was also one of the most proficient killers. At least that's how Brenda saw him. The truth was, Mar'cte was happy all the time, especially when he was hunting, but he was no fool and he was always watchful. He stared her down, as time seemed to just stand still.

"You are free to go and do your sneaking, your skulking, along with the other bad bloods. You may do as you wish, but if whatever you plan hurts Kujhade or his ooman, I will not hesitate to kill you. You may also tell U'darajhe that I have not forgotten that my two mates were stolen from me," Mar'cte said as he leaned in even closer. He was so close that his mandibles were bumping against her ear as he spoke. His heated breath ghosted down her cheek and neck. He even grazed his face against hers, in an almost loving gesture.

"I am not swayed by your mating prowess, as impressive as it may be," Mar'cte continued, as he rubbed his face on hers and started purring lightly.

"So then let me go if I'm no good," she said, unable to make her voice go above a hoarse whisper. He pulled back to look her in the eyes, his lower mandibles lifting again in a crooked grin.

"No, you will not return to mating the whole ship. I cannot watch you from there. You will stay here, not far from my eyes or my blades," he purred again as he started to back away from her slowly.

"Why don't you get it over with then huh? Put me on your disgusting wall," Brenda spat, then swallowed hard. The New Yorker in her just refused to keep quiet.

"My wall?" Mar'cte asked over his shoulder. His tusks clicked together, almost making a 'tsk tsk' sound. "Poor lou'dte kale, thinks she is worthy of my wall. I would not dishonor the trophies there by placing yours next to them," he said then put on the rest of his armor and left without another word.

So far she had been threatened by two yautja, for two different reasons in the same day. She certainly wasn't ingratiating herself into the family fold at this rate. Brenda stood where she was until she was sure she could leave without running into him on the way out. She would find Jasmine. It was messed up, but ironically the very woman she was plotting to send to her grisly death, was the closest thing she had to a friend on the ship. However, time was of the essence and it seemed to Brenda that she was quickly running out of it.

* * *

"Again! Up!" Kujhade yelled.

Jasmine was on the floor in a kehrite ring, dripping with sweat, muscles aching, and being stalked by a young male yautja doing his final trainings for the upcoming chiva. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and so was unable to hide the dirty look she was giving Kujhade when she thought he didn't see.

"If you continue to sulk I will add time to today's training, now UP!" Kujhade nearly roared at her from the edge of the ring where he was marching back and forth like a nightmarish drill sergeant.

With a great effort, Jasmine rose to her feet. She was holding an old staff that Kujhade had given her, and was teaching her how to use. She was using it now to lean her weight on while she was getting up. Kujhade whispered something that her translator failed to pick up. The young male she was getting killed by in the name of a sparring match, rushed over and kicked the staff from underneath her, causing her to fall once again.

"Hey, what the hell was that all about?!" Jasmine huffed, as she winced in general pain. There wasn't a single part of her body that wasn't screaming for a shower and a massage. She'd have to teach Kujhade how to give those. It would undoubtedly lead to sex, but still.

"Never show that you are weak, or exhausted. Even if you are on the doors of death, do not concede defeat, nor reveal your injuries," Kujhade barked from just above them.

The young male chuckled as he turned away from Jasmine, presumably to resume his stance. Narrowing her eyes at him, Jasmine extended the staff and swept his feet, causing him to fall hard on his back. She got up, mindful not to use the staff to aid herself.

"That was for laughing," she said, unable to hide her glee at getting even a small victory. Kujhade nodded his head at her.

"There is a reason that ooman's are considered dangerous prey. They are sly and resourceful. They will prevail over you if you are not watchful. Never turn your back to an adversary young blood," Kujhade instructed.

The young male's golden eyes blazed in humiliation and anger, at being bested at all by such a small ooman female.

"It was dishonorable what she did," he complained.

"Oh stop being a bitch, it wasn't dishonorable. It was opportunistic, not dishonorable, get it right," Jasmine retorted as she backed away and began circling him once more. The male looked to Kujhade for support. Kujhade simply shook his head.

"There is no dishonor in a smaller adversary taking advantage where they can. You should not have taken your attention away from her," Kujhade told him, just as Jasmine was coming behind the young male again, this time with the staff aimed for his upper body.

The male dodged just in time, and countered with a spin move to get behind her. She tried to spin also, but ran into him instead of evading him. She brought up her staff, but was too close as he easily blocked with one hand. He snatched it from her, and with a growl took one hand and shoved her roughly to the ground halfway across the ring. Jasmine landed with thump, hitting the back of her head in the process. She groaned, as she blinked into the lights above, stars bursting behind her eyes. The young male was on her before she knew what was happening. He flipped her over and positioned his claws at the base of her spine.

"If we were not sparring, this would be mine lou'dte kale. Do not laugh at me again," he tried to whisper so that Kujhade couldn't hear. She heard what he said, and it pissed her off, but she couldn't move with his knee in her back, and him just generally hovering over her.

"No the fuck you didn't…" she began as she started to get her wits about her and struggle a bit more. "…position your muthafuckin claws at my back you big headed…."

Before she could articulate the rest of her sentence, she felt him suddenly lifted off her back. When she finally rolled over, she saw Kujhade holding him in sort of a full nelson. The young male was livid, but also embarrassed that he could not release himself no matter how hard he tried. He roared and grunted in frustration.

"I have allowed my mate to train here for her benefit, not so that you can intimidate her with idle threats. If you ever threaten to take a trophy from her simply because she got an upper hand on you, I will kill you where you stand, and then you will not have to be concerned over a chiva you will never see. Is that understood?" Kujhade said in a flat tone. He hadn't even bothered to growl or make any other kind of noise.

The young male nodded stiffly before Kujhade slung him to the other side of the ring. In a huff, he angrily marched away, muttering to himself but not daring cast a look back at either Jasmine or Kujhade. Jasmine had gotten up, rubbing the back of her head where a small knot was forming. Kujhade did not rush over to her. It was a rule of his not to coddle her, or show any undue attention to her in the kehrite. She had to be seen as a foe worthy of respect.

"I'm okay, just in case you were wondering," she said as she half jumped and half crawled out of the kehrite ring. She wasn't quite making it, and it took Kujhade to push her with a hand planted on her butt, to get her all the way out.

"Ugh, when are you gonna build stairs for this damn thing? I can't keep crawling in and out of it, it's getting embarrassing," she said, exhaustion coming through in every word.

She plopped down on the edge of the depressed ring, and dangled her feet as she leaned back on her elbows. Kujhade seemed as though he was about to sit next to her when he stopped and stared at the doorway. Jasmine turned to see Brenda coming their way. She smiled, but it was unlike the blonde to be paying her so many visits. She was by turns very friendly and very standoffish. Jasmine usually didn't deal with people whom she deemed as swishy-swashy, but since there weren't many options, she tolerated Brenda's back and forth behavior. Lately, Brenda's presence was raising Jasmine's hackles a little, and from the stoic look on Kujhade's face, it was the same for him as well.

"Hey sweet meat!" Brenda said a little too happily, waving as she came near.

"Hey Miss B," Jasmine called back. Kujhade said nothing as he didn't move a muscle. Only one of his tusks was twitching, and Jasmine recognized that as a sign of his annoyance.

Brenda came and sat down next to Jasmine on the side that Kujhade wasn't standing on. He watched her silently, that one tusk still twitching. He looked down at Jasmine, asking if she was okay with just his eyes. Jasmine gave a slight single nod, and Kujhade began to walk away. He seemed to hesitate, taking several looks back at the two women, and walking very slowly. Finally, he stopped.

"Jasmine, did you want to eat something?" He called to her. He knew that she liked to eat with him, and thought it would be a sure way to get her away from the other ooman. There was something about her that Kujhade simply did not trust, even though he had no evidence of why he shouldn't.

"Uh, I'll catch up with you later babe. Don't eat too much without me," Jasmine said, sending him on with a wave and another reassuring nod.

"Do not linger here long. There will be others to come, and I do not like the idea of you being here with them without me," he said, really fighting the urge to drag her out of there with him. Something in his gut didn't feel right, and he would later regret not following his instincts where it concerned her safety.

"I promise I will be there in fifteen minutes, okay 'Jhade?" She said, but she could see the conflict in his face. She didn't like to see that, or be the cause of any discomfort for him.

"Brenda, come on and follow me down. I gotta take a shower and get freshened up," Jazzy said to her friend. Brenda nodded and got to her feet as well. Kujhade visibly relaxed as he left ahead of them.

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," Brenda said as the two women walked towards the elevators.

"No, it's okay. So, what brings you here anyway? You hate the kehrite," Jasmine tried to ask casually. Just like Kujhade, Jasmine's antennae were up also, but there really was no reason for it.

"Well, I couldn't wait to tell you. Me and the rest of the girls got you something for your special day you're having!" Brenda exclaimed, as they exited the elevator and entered Kujhade's quarters. Jasmine cocked an eyebrow.

"You and the girls? Those women hate me Brenda. They think I'm a traitor or something just because I made the situation work instead of just being so damn defeated about it. What would they have come together to get for me?" Jasmine asked a stunned Brenda. Her mouth worked to offer some explanation. This was the third time she'd been found out in less than twenty-four hours. Was she that damn transparent?

"You don't have to say anything. You don't think I caught the vibe? It's why I stopped coming down there. I couldn't take it anymore," Jasmine said as she peeled off her sweaty clothing, tossing it wherever as she made her way to the shower. Brenda followed, eyeing Jasmine's body as she walked behind her. Those training sessions had whipped her into shape. She had lost all the flab that accompanied loss of muscle mass. Her butt was even rounder than before, and she was toned and tight all over. Brenda subtly licked her lips. Brenda stood to the side outside the spray of water, as Jasmine started her shower.

"Well, before you go down and eat with the hubby, come with me so I can show you what we got for you," Brenda said over the noise of the water.

"What the hell is it, a body bag?" Jasmine joked. Brenda gave her a forced smile, as she let her eyes roam Jasmine's body again.

"No silly, but it is something special. I'm not supposed to even be telling you about it," Brenda said, giving her a light-hearted laugh.

"Okay, but it can't take too long. I promised Kujhade I'd be down, and he's very…punctual," Jasmine said, making quick work of the shower and bouncing over to grab a towel that she had gotten from the crates in storage.

"That little training you do has got you looking right sweet meat," Brenda complimented. Jasmine flashed a smile and did a full turn.

"You like? I think it's been paying off too. I look like I used to back when I was dancing every day," she said as she beckoned Brenda to follow her out of the bathing area. Brenda walked closely behind, watching every curve and movement. It was a shame such a pretty girl had to be sacrificed on the altar of Brenda's freedom.

"You think Kujhade would mind sharing you?" Brenda asked outright.

"What?!" Jasmine squeaked out, a blush washing over her cheeks.

"I said, I want him to share you. Do you think he would mind?" Brenda said stepping into Jasmine's room, and openly ogling her.

"Yeah, he would mind the shit out of it, he's quite possessive," Jasmine giggled, at once feeling flattered, and uneasy.

She'd had sex with a woman before, in exchange for a place to stay and some drugs, but she wasn't really into it. Jasmine wouldn't have considered herself bi or anything, but she knew that Brenda was. Not only had the blonde said as much before, but this wasn't the first time Jasmine had to rebuff her advances. Jasmine smiled and just shook her head, ignoring the obvious come on.

"I'm serious, why didn't you and me ever get together sweet meat? I bet you taste good, and I know for a fact he's not taking care that" Brenda cooed, stepping in closer to Jasmine who was still naked, but had her clothes in her hand.

Jasmine stepped back and gave Brenda a bemused look.

"We didn't get together because I don't really roll like that B. I mean I had a night or two, but that was back when I needed a place to crash or a hit," Jasmine said, but Brenda stayed close.

"Brenda, move back. I don't wanna have sex with you alright? Told you that before," Jazzy said, getting annoyed with her insistence on the matter. Brenda held her hands up in surrender as she stepped back out of Jasmine's space.

"Alright, alright. I get it. The alien that abducted you can have you, but I can't," Brenda said, trying to make a joke of it, but it pissed Jasmine off anyway.

"What the fuck does that even mean? I can't believe you just hit on me, now you throwin' shade when I said no. First off, people kidnapped us, not them. Secondly, you ain't been no damn virgin saint around here neither, so you can ice all the bullshit. And thirdly, you need to hurry this up because I promised Kujhade I would be down there, and if I'm too late, he's gonna go fucking apeshit. So can we get this over with?" Jasmine said to a stunned Brenda.

Up until now, Jasmine had been super nice and sweet to Brenda. Jasmine's patience with the blonde's "frenemy" behavior, was born out of a sense of gratitude. Brenda was the first person she spoke to when they were first abducted. She encouraged Jasmine to stay strong, and keep a stiff upper lip the entire time, and Jasmine was eternally grateful. However, that didn't give Brenda the carte blanche to do and say whatever, that she apparently thought it did.

"Look, I'm sorry sweet meat, okay? Sorry. I can get you back to your guy, just come see the gift we got you," Brenda said, a small grin on her face. Jasmine gave her one last stern look, then shook her head and finished getting dressed.

* * *

"I thought you were taking me down to where the ladies stay? Why are we headed towards somebody else's living quarters?" Jasmine asked Brenda who was leading the way.

"It's in Mimi's place," Brenda said, getting to a door and sliding it open.

Jasmine stood just outside the threshold, as Brenda went inside. It was dark in there, and suddenly Jasmine felt sick to her stomach. She didn't want to go in there. Every bell and whistle was going off in her head. Something was very wrong here.

"Come on in, what're you waitin' on, a formal invitation? Get in here girl," Brenda called. It sounded friendly enough, but something about it was fake. It was too high-pitched, too giddy sounding, a little too happy.

"No," Jasmine said, almost as if affirming to herself that she would not.

"Huh? C'mon. Come get what you got comin'," Brenda said, her voice dropping low, and Jasmine could have sworn it took on a sinister quality.

Jasmine took two steps back, right into something hard and growling. She didn't have to turn around to know who was behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath through her nose. Brenda stepped back out into the light looking up and behind Jazzy. She wore a look that Jasmine couldn't read, and avoided Jasmine's steely gaze. If looks could kill, Brenda would have died a thousand times. Jasmine clenched her jaw tightly, flinching away from the clawed hand that tried to grab her shoulder. Brenda tried to slide past Jasmine, but the younger woman jumped at her anyway. She was stopped by the iron grip of U'darajhe. Brenda scooted past Jazzy, casting furtive glances at the big yautja.

"Remember you promised me…"

"Shut up and leave before you're next," he said to her, while still keeping his gaze and his grip firmly on Jasmine.

Brenda was gone in a flash, and then it was just Jasmine and her tormentor. She immediately started to struggle, but it was no use. She wasn't getting away from him. He turned her around by her shoulders, lifting her as he did so. He brought her close to his face, and gave her a low growl.

"Finally, I have you and where is Kujhade? It doesn't matter now. You will never see him again," he purred to her, opening his tusks as his tongue snaked out and grazed her neck and side of her face.

Jasmine groaned in disgust and fear. She was shaking in his grasp, furious at herself for being so trusting. She gathered as much saliva as she could in the back of her throat, and hawked a major spit right in his face. U'darajhe recoiled in response. Still holding her with one hand on her shoulder, he took the other and backhanded her, causing her nose and mouth to bleed. He then tossed her into the darkened room and stalked in after her.

"You have fight in you little ooman. I might enjoy this more than the hunt," he growled, as the door slid shut behind them.

* * *

 **With 56 reviews, and more than 6500 views, I can't help but get the feeling you guys like this story. I love ya'll too! I can't believe it, and I'm very, very humbled by the response. I sincerely hope that I'm** **writing a story that's up to snuff. I'm trying my best not to disappoint.**


	22. Blooded

Brenda was doubled over at the end of the corridor. She retched every time she heard one of Jasmine's screams cut off by a fleshy thump. He was hitting her, beating the hell out of her in there. Killing her. Brenda thought she could do it. She thought she had what it took to hand Jasmine over to this monster. As she stared down at her feet with the white no-name athletic shoes, which were now covered in the contents of her stomach, she knew that she would not come back from this. She would not forget this. She would hear those screams, and the way they were cut short by the sound of a fist hitting flesh in her nightmares now. Brenda stood up semi-straight on shaky legs, leaning all her weight on the wall behind her. Her bangs and ponytail clung to her sweaty brow and neck, as she leaned forward with her hands on her knees. Salty tears ran unbidden down her cheeks. What had she done? What had young little Jasmine, her little Sweet Meat done to deserve this? Jasmine had eventually confided in her about the rape she endured as a young girl. She'd told Brenda about how traumatic it was, and how she would rather die than go through that again. U'darajhe had planned on not only raping her, but doing so in such a violent manner as to kill her. It sounded as though he would first enjoy simply beating her, and that's when Brenda noticed it. The silence. It had gone quiet in there.

Panic started setting in. For all her planning, she had rushed things and in the final moment hadn't thought them through at all. The whole point was to be able to get back to Earth. To give him what he wanted, so that she could get what she wanted. Now that she had done that, how in the world was she supposed to get back to Earth?

"You're real fuckin' smart, Brenda. A regular fuckin' Einstein," she sighed, still gripping her knees and trying to keep her stomach from heaving again.

She had allowed Mar'cte's threats to shake her up and make her move first. She should have waited. Kujhade was here on the ship, waiting for Jasmine no less, and here she had sprung the trap too early. Did she really believe that Kujhade would not come looking? Or think it was suspicious that Brenda was the last one with Jasmine, and now she was gone? Would he not suspect U'darajhe just based on past incidents? Furthermore, Mar'cte would suspect her since he had made it quite clear that her sneaking around the ship hadn't gone unnoticed by him in the least.

Suddenly her head snapped up in the direction of the door. She heard gurgling sounds, and she knew he was choking Jazzy now. A deep sense of regret filled her, and it was at war with the urgent need to escape. She had no idea how she was going to do it, but she had to get off this ship, and she had to do it now with or without U'darajhe. Brenda managed to straighten herself up and make her way to the elevators down the hall. When she exited them on a lower floor, she hunched her shoulders as if against the cold, or as though that could keep her from being seen, and marched back towards Mar'cte's quarters. There were only a few personal effects she couldn't do without. She would gather them while he was gone, and she would try to steal a ship, then she was out of there. She had obviously never flown one before, but what the hell. Even crashing and dying in one of them would be better than facing Mar'cte or Kujhade with what she had done.

It was a ten minute walk back to his quarters. When she got there all was quiet. It didn't seem as though he had been back since earlier, so she quickly gathered some of her things. She placed them back in the bag that they'd gotten from the Weyland-Yutani people a million years ago. From her pockets, she fished out a broken cigarette and a lighter. She lit the cigarette, took a nervous drag, and immediately calmed down. Brenda gave the place a once over to make sure she wasn't leaving anything of value behind, and when she was satisfied she left the chambers.

The further away she got from where Jazzy was being brutally raped and possibly murdered, the better she felt. Just an old case of out of sight out of mind, or in this case out of earshot, out of mind. It was just as well. She told herself she was simply making sure that Jazzy's death hadn't been in vain. Brenda had thrown her to the wolves so that she could be free, and that was what the hell she was gonna do….be free.

It didn't take her nearly as long to sneak to the hangar as she would have thought. Brenda had made it there and spotted the ship that U'darajhe had pulled up in. There were always a few yautja milling around in there, either coming or going. Brenda was thankful that U'darajhe's ship wasn't too far from the doors. She walked as quickly as she could towards it, keeping her head down and her shoulders hunched. Brenda breathed a sigh of relief when she made it to the ship without incident. Could fortune have finally been smiling down on her this way? Maybe, because the doors to the ship opened on their own. With a quick few looks around to see if anyone was watching or following her, she entered the ship. There was no one inside that she could see, but decided that it was better to be safe than sorry. Brenda did a quick sweep of the small ship, relaxed now to know that she was alone. She plopped down into the pilot seat and stared at the control panel. Of course everything was in their stupid language. She couldn't tell one group of dots and slashes from another. She fought the urge to just break down, even though she kind of wanted to do just that. Crying and whining really wasn't her thing. She sighed heavily and tried to think clearly. She looked over the controls, trying to find anything familiar, or anything that looked like an ignition switch.

 _Clicking_.

Her eyes got wide. It couldn't be.

 _Click..clickclickclickclick_

Brenda turned around slowly, dreading who it could be. If it were U'darajhe she might be able to talk her way out. If it wasn't, she hadn't the slightest idea what she would do then. As she turned, a figure materialized in the small cockpit. He wasn't too much taller than her.

"Mar'cte," Brenda whispered, her voice catching in her throat.

"Why does it not surprise me that you are in U'darajhe's ship?" Mar'cte asked, his earlier jovial attitude completely gone. She tried to rise, but he pushed her back into her seat.

"Where is U'darajhe?" He asked, his grip on her shoulder tightened until her eyes watered. Brenda looked up at Mar'cte with the most terrified, and sorriest look he had ever seen.

"I'm sorry Mar'cte," she whispered to him. She began to shake, and the bile threatened to rise in her throat at the thought of exactly what she was sorry for.

"Aaaagghhh!" She screamed as he brought his hand from her shoulder to her wrist, and broke it.

"What did you do?!" He thundered at her, fearing the worst. It couldn't have been Kujhade in danger. No, it was Kujhade's mate that was in trouble.

"Show me where she is!"

* * *

Kujhade couldn't finish eating. It was past the time for Jasmine to be down there with him, and he kept looking towards the entrance of the room for her arrival. It was rather crowded in the mess hall, but then it always was at that time. As the time for the chiva grew near, the unblooded and young blood yautja's were putting in extra training, which in turn meant extra eating. Kujhade pushed his food away in anger. How many times was he going to ignore his instincts? When things didn't feel right they usually weren't. It wasn't that he couldn't trust her, it was that he had a hard time believing that the ship he had spent so many years on was simply not safe. It went beyond contravening a custom or arbitrarily making a mistake. It was not safe because he and Jasmine were together, and there was a lot more hatred for that fact going on among the inhabitants of the ship than he truly realized.

Kujhade had always felt at least a little comradery with his fellow yautja, but as he and Jasmine became closer, they both withdrew into one another. They were rarely apart when he was on the ship. He not only took her to the kehrite, and mess hall, but anywhere he went she could be found either hurrying behind him or next to him holding his arm to keep up. Jasmine was now earning nothing but ire from her fellow humans due to her relationship with him. He was aware of their opinion that she had betrayed them on some level. To a point he could understand that. If the roles had been reversed his fellow yautja would have done the same. This was one reason why he did not restrict the blonde one from contacting Jasmine. She seemed to be the only one willing to speak to his mate, and Jasmine often requested her company. Now he not only should have restricted her, but killed her preemptively it seems. He had no doubt that Jasmine was in trouble and that the blonde had something to do with that.

At first he had gotten up to look for her, but remembered the collar around her neck. He had finally slaved it to his gauntlet and could now simply locate her position anywhere on the ship. He pressed the screen on the device, expecting to see her position somewhere familiar. Instead, she was almost halfway across the ship, somewhere she never goes. Concerned and curious, he zoomed in to make it a 3D image. He could see the other set of living quarters, and her heat signature within the walls of one of them. She was there with another male, and she seemed to be….mating? He blinked his eyes a few times, not believing what he was seeing. No, she was not mating another, not his Jasmine. A dread twisted in his gut. He knew it! Jasmine was in trouble, no doubt because of that other ooman female, and she would pay just as soon as he retrieved Jasmine, and killed the one who had her.

* * *

"Aaahh," Jasmine moaned in pain.

U'darajhe had tossed her into the darkened room right onto the hard metal floor. She turned and backed away from him, trying to get to her feet. She managed to get up and face him. He was looking at her, the look familiar. Terrell had given her the same look, just before he defiled her. U'darajhe removed his codpiece as he stalked towards her. It was as she thought, but he also wanted to hurt her in other ways. He wanted to beat her, make her suffer, make her bleed. He looked like the type that got off on making you beg for mercy, your life, or beg for death if it came to that.

"Get away from me you fuckin' piece of shit!" Jazzy screamed at him. He simply shook his head.

"Or else what?" He sneered. "Your precious mate isn't here, but I wish he was. I wish he was here to see what I will do to you," he said.

Jasmine tried to make a break for it past him, and she almost made it, but his reach was too long, and he snatched her back by her hair.

"Aaaahhhh!" Jazzy screamed as she was pulled back towards him.

"Where do you think you're going? There is nowhere for you to run!" U'darajhe said silkily as he pressed his erection against her back. She squirmed, and he purred in response.

Ever since he had been training her, Kujhade had given her a weapon to keep on her person. He had given her a knife and told her to hide it somewhere where it could not be easily spotted. She had chosen her thigh, and had put it in a holster underneath her clothes. It was a hunting knife. Small in his hands, but big enough for her. She needed to get to it, but how? How could she get it without tipping him off that she had it in the first place?

Still tugging her hair, he placed his other hand on her breasts, squeezing and kneading them very roughly before ripping her shirt off completely, exposing them. He spun her around, taking a good look at them with his fist twined in her ponytail.

"So, this is what has Kujhade going crazy and trying to life mate you?" He purred, then suddenly smacked her hard. Her nose bled and so did her mouth. She glared at him defiantly, spitting the blood in his face. He growled, and smacked her several times until she cried and begged him to stop.

"Please…..no more…" Jazzy said through puffy swollen lips, and an equally puffy swollen eye.

He didn't stop hitting her, although he moved from her face to her body. He landed two solid blows to her ribs. On the second blow, he felt them give way as she howled in pain. Weakly, she tried to grab and loose herself from his grip on her hair. She was tugging on his arm, unwittingly pressing buttons on his gauntlet. One little light flashed red repeatedly. Neither of them noticed.

"Please…don't kill me. Aaaahhh! I'll do…whatever you want!" Jasmine screamed and pleaded, knowing what the next part of this was.

"Yes, you will," he said as he tightened his grip on her hair. She screamed out, and he choked her for her efforts, cutting off the scream altogether.

He choked her until her eyes started to turn red. She struggled mightily, but it was no use. Finally, he let her go before she could pass out from lack of oxygen. She barely had time to catch a breath before he pushed her down to her knees in front of him, his manhood in her face. He was about to make her pleasure him when he saw it. Kujhade's mark on her shoulder, a deep brown in her skin akin to a tattoo. He glowered at it, and then from nowhere raked his claws over the mark, taking a good bit of skin with it. Jasmine screamed, the hot blood running down her arm.

"Now you belong to no one!" He bellowed, as he pushed her face into him.

Jasmine gagged at the unwanted member in her mouth. He was sweaty and sour, and she hated it, but it did give her the one chance that she needed. She closed her good eye tightly, her lips sore, her teeth loosened, and her mouth bleeding. He was almost choking her with himself, until she placed a hand on his thigh and pushed back.

"Please, just let me…" she tried to say in the meekest tone she could muster. She was glad that there were no witnesses to what she was doing. Kujhade might not understand a woman's use of her talents in order to escape a deadly situation. She hated herself for this. This was only for Kujhade. She had promised that she would not be intimate with any other male, for as long as he claimed her. Now, she was breaking that promise with the one male that had been trouble for them from the start.

U'darajhe's grip on her hair never loosened. He was watching her, enjoying the shame in her face as she pleasured him. He wished sorely that Kujhade could see how disloyal she was. Jasmine did her very best. She was intent on bringing him to orgasm. It would only be a short distraction, a small window of opportunity but she had to take it. She had to do this, and she had to do it well.

Jasmine ignored all the physical pain. He was twisting his fist in her hair still, but slowly began to move his hips in response to her ministrations. She worked him for all she was worth, until she saw that his eyes began to flutter. She took him in one of her hands, and the other hand she eased down her pants. Her fingers grazed the hilt of her knife. She reached just a little further and unsnapped the holster. When she thought he was looking she made sure he could see both her hands.

It seemed to take forever for him to come closer to his climax, as she finally felt him pulse and thicken. Almost time to make her move. Her jaw was aching, and she found it hard to breathe through the pain in her ribs, and the blood starting to clot around her nose. Jasmine kept going. No matter how disgusting this was, no matter how much pain she was in, she would get out of this or die trying. Regardless of the pain she was in, she was determined not to be raped anymore ever again.

U'darajhe purred louder, working his hips more and causing her a great deal of pain in the process. His grip on her ponytail tightened impossibly, until she was sure she felt some of it pulled from her very scalp. As he got closer to his climax, she painstakingly pulled the knife silently from its holster, but not out into the open yet. He started panting, trying to keep his awareness, but not really able to do so completely. Finally, she could feel him about to spill his worthless seed, as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Time seemed to slow as she pulled the knife out all the way from its hiding place. As soon as she felt the hot liquid, she pulled her mouth from him. He let out a powerful roar, and so didn't hear Jasmine's cry as she took the large hunting knife and plunged it deep within his bare chest to the hilt.

In his arrogance, U'darajhe had stripped all his armor, and now he had dropped his guard and it had proved his ultimate undoing. He was still orgasming when the knife struck his heart. She had to use all her might and both her hands to drive the knife through his sternum. It was just by instinct that she figured their hearts were in the same place, and her gamble paid off. He punched her in the face, but it didn't have the level of strength behind it as it would if he were not dying at the moment. She saw stars behind her eyes, but she held on, screaming the entire time until her voice was raw. Jasmine dragged the knife down his torso, gouts of green blood drenching her in her still semi-kneeled position. U'darajhe fell backwards staring in disbelief and trying to find the strength to kill her, but he couldn't. He could only flail weakly, trying to snatch her head off by her hair, but unable to do that either. She fell on top of him, still screaming and not letting go of the knife until his furious roar stopped and the heaving of his chest ceased. Jasmine looked into his face. U'darajhe's eyes blazed with a fury and a hatred she had never seen before. His mandibles worked as if he wanted to speak, but could no longer do that. His mouth closed after a few moments, the light in his eyes petering out as he lay his head back and died. His claws were still twisted in her hair, and she had to manually pull his fist apart to get out of his death grip.

Shaking uncontrollably, she managed to wrest the knife from his stomach where she had dragged it. He lay open, steam rising from his insides and the blood pooled all around them. She felt the bile rise in her throat as she leaned over and emptied her stomach completely. Jasmine wanted to turn away from her handiwork, but she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She had never killed anything beyond some insects and a mouse or two. She was kneeling beside his lifeless body, rocking and holding herself, the knife still in her hand. This was a perfect time to cry, but she had no tears to spare for him. He was intent upon killing her, and she did what she had to do. Everything ached. She was bleeding from her shoulder, from her face, maybe internally from her ribs, she didn't know.

How would she face Kujhade and the rest of the yautja after killing one of them? Only he would believe that she had done it out of necessity. The others would surely kill her for this, despite her many injuries at his hands. Just then, the door of the chamber slid open. She turned to it, dreading to face any who stepped over the threshold.

"My mate," Kujhade said quietly as he took in the scene. He rushed over to her kneeling and taking a quick assessment of her injuries. Then in came Mar'cte, dragging a whimpering Brenda behind him.

Jasmine stood, unable to look Kujhade in the eyes.

"I'm sorry Kujhade, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry…" she kept repeating as he looked at U'darajhe's body, and held her close to him.

"Do not apologize Jasmine. I have seen it all," he said, and she looked at him in shock. He had seen her shameful act. He had seen it all, every minute of it. She couldn't have been more mortified if she tried.

"Kujhade, I can… I can explain. I can…" she couldn't even finish she was so ashamed.

"I said do not apologize. You have done an honored act. You have done well," Kujhade comforted her. She peeked around Kujhade to see Mar'cte, and Brenda.

Jasmine pulled away from Kujhade and walked towards her so-called friend. Mar'cte shoved Brenda forward, making her stumble before she gathered her footing. She was holding one hand with the other, cradling it. Jasmine could see it was twisted unnaturally. The taller woman seemed shorter somehow, reduced as Jasmine walked slowly towards her.

"Sweet Meat, Jasmine, you…you lived. I'm so glad you lived," Brenda managed. She wouldn't be able to reason with Kujhade or Mar'cte, but she could reason with Jasmine.

"You set me up," Jazzy said almost too low to hear, the hunting knife down and behind her leg. She was still advancing on Brenda.

"I didn't mean to hurt you Jazzy. You gotta believe me," Brenda pleaded, as the two yautja's traded looks behind the women.

"I trusted you Brenda, all this time I trusted you," Jasmine stated a little louder as she got into Brenda's personal space.

"I just wanted to go home Jasmine. Home. Do you remember that place? The place where we came from? I just wanted to go back there. We can't all have it as good as you," Brenda said, the truth finally coming out as she stopped pleading. Jasmine may have been angry, but she would not kill her. No, she needed only fear that from the yautja.

Jasmine glared at Brenda, looking the woman in the eyes. Tears stood out in her hazel eyes, as she trembled with rage, and pain. She had not believed before this day, that Brenda would have actually put her in harm's way. How wrong she was to have placed her trust in this woman.

Brenda stood there hoping beyond hope that Jasmine would understand. She offered a weak smile, and was happy to see that Jasmine offered a small smile in return. Jasmine even held out an arm for a hug. Brenda stepped into Jasmine's embrace gladly.

"Do you forgive me Sweet Meat?" Brenda asked, sinking into the shorter woman's warm hug.

"Yes, Brenda. I forgive you, and I can still send you home," Jasmine said with tears in her eyes.

Brenda smiled brightly, but it faltered when she felt a warmth spread from her midsection. It was followed by a searing pain. In shock and confusion, Brenda pulled back from the hug, and looked down. Jasmine had sunk her hunting knife into her gut, and the blood was pouring over her hand and onto the floor. Brenda reached a hand down, and looked into Jasmine's eyes, both of the women openly crying now. Instead of pulling away, Brenda brought the knife further in, impaling herself upon it. With the other hand she caressed Jasmine's swollen face. Jasmine winced, her breath coming in short hot gasps as she continued to cry.

"I'm sorry Jasmine. I'm so sorry," the tall blonde whispered. Jasmine could only nod as she withdrew the knife, catching Brenda in her arms as she sank down, the life leaving her face.

Jasmine sank with her, rocking and crying quietly. Kujhade and Mar'cte stood by in complete shock. Jasmine had not only killed a yautja hunter, but her own kind whom had betrayed her. This was the act of a warrior, a blooded hunter, or an arbitrator. She had killed not one but two bad bloods. In his heart of hearts, Kujhade could not have been more proud, although his only regret was not being able to kill U'darajhe himself. With a nod, Mar'cte used his gauntlet to alert Bakuub, and also to call the medic team to dispose of the bodies. He then left, feeling as though he should allow Kujhade time alone with his mate.

Kneeling down behind her, Kujhade lifted Jasmine who immediately swooned in his arms. He took a look at her through his mask, going to her spectrum in order to see her more clearly. Her face was a mess. Another male, whom he could no longer take revenge upon, had done this. While he was proud of what Jasmine had accomplished, he couldn't help but feel as though he had failed her for the thousandth time. He wasn't doing a good job of keeping her safe at all, but now he was beginning to wonder if he really hadn't. He put the thoughts out of his mind. She needed medical attention immediately.

"Mate, you will be alright. I promise you," Kujhade said as he hurriedly made his way to the medical bay. Jasmine did not hear him. She lay limp in his arms, and this was the first time that true fear entered Kujhade's heart.


	23. Silver Lining

**A/N: I hope you all don't mind how long this is. I didn't dare extend some things on to another chapter, because there are other things that will happen, and as much as I love these two, I can't spend all my chapters focusing so closely on them. I did want to place a ray of sunshine to cut the gloom a bit. Hope you enjoy this. Also thanks so much. This story now has more than 70 reviews, and more than 8k views total. Love you all, and happy New Year to all of you!**

* * *

It had only been a few hours ago that she had been in the clutches of a bad blood. Her ribs were broken, lips busted, nose broken, eyes bruised, and she had taken several blows to the head causing damage to her brain, although they assured Kujhade it was minor. It didn't seem minor. Not to mention the choking had cracked the translation collar causing them to remove it. The skin on her neck was bruised where it had once been. When he had asked why she had not awakened, they told him that it was common with humans to go into the long sleep when they were injured, especially about the head.

Kujhade looked at the full size, holographic 3D image of her body that spun slowly next to her resting chamber. Her heart seemed to be beating normally, and the rest of her internal organs seemed fine except for her brain. There were red indicators blinking slowly at every point on her body that was injured, but the ones near her brain started to flash faster and faster.

Inside the chamber Jasmine's body began to shake violently. Her eyes opened only to roll back into her head, as spit and froth bubbled at her lips and down her chin. Kujhade watched her closely, fearing for her since he had never seen a human do this before. Ten seconds, fifteen seconds, thirty seconds, a full minute. He alerted the medic. One came rushing in, lifting the top of the chamber and loosening the restraints. She rolled Jasmine over to her side as vomit dribbled out of her mouth. The female medic had no problem holding Jasmine relatively still with one hand, and being surprisingly gentle with the other as she stroked Jazzy's cheek.

Soon the seizure was over. The medic stayed with Jasmine, gently laying her back in the bed. She left and came back quickly with a simple bowl of water and a small cloth. Seeing that she was about to clean Jasmine, Kujhade reached for it grabbing it out of the medic's hands. She willingly gave it over to him.

"If she has another one of those, alert me," the female said and then left the area. Kujhade gave an absent nod, then went to kneel next to Jasmine.

He dipped the towel into the water and began to wipe her mouth and nose, careful not to press too hard on her cuts and bruises. When around her mouth was clean, he moved to her brow, wiping it down as well as her cheeks and around her neck. When he was done cleaning her face, he took a look at her rib area. It was dark and bruised even in the spots around it that weren't covered in bandages, and it looked tender. The medics had done an excellent job with them, and it would not take as long to heal as it would have had she still been on Earth. They had also reset her nose, leaving only a small cut and a bruise on the bridge of it.

"Brother," Mar'cte said from the doorway.

Kujhade's head snapped up. He must have been absorbed in thought, because he hadn't heard Mar'cte approach.

"Bakuub and the rest of the council want to see you," he said solemnly. Kujhade nodded and got to his feet, casting one last look at Jasmine as he closed her healing chamber.

* * *

He knew this was coming. They would want to know exactly what happened. The truth was, he didn't have all the details either. All he knew was that he was waiting on her, and when she failed to show up he spotted her with U'darajhe. He hadn't even seen events unfold from the beginning. He had only seen things from the point where she was kneeling before that bad blood, being abused by him. It made Kujhade angry beyond words to think about. It made him even angrier that U'darajhe was dead, but he hadn't killed him.

"Brother, will she be alright? Is she going to wake up?" Mar'cte asked anxiously, as they both made their way to the council's chambers.

"I do not know Mar'cte. She is fragile, but also strong. I have no doubt that she will awaken soon," Kujhade said with a confidence that belied his inner doubt. After watching her have that episode, he could not be certain.

"I know you never saw exactly what happened, so before we get in there I just want to prepare you. If he had been hunting it would not have been so bad, but considering that he was not, it was a bad beating. Not something that a normal ooman female should have been able to endure. My sister is strong indeed," Mar'cte said, and stopped when Kujhade stopped and turned the shorter yautja to face him.

"What did you call her?" Kujhade asked, his eyes searching Mar'cte's face for some hint of mockery. There was none as Mar'cte smiled up at him.

"She is my sister, and you are my brother. I know there are many who dislike what you have with her, but was that not the point of bringing them here?" He asked as he placed a hand on Kujhade's shoulder.

"Thank you Mar'cte," Kujhade said, grateful beyond words for his support.

"You have seen what happened? How? When? Why have I not seen it first?" Kujhade asked getting angrier to know that someone had knowledge of the sordid details before he did. The level of disrespect in this regard was unfathomable. It was well known that Jasmine was his mate, and as such he had first right even before the elders to be apprised of the situation in full. Yet, as usual he had been disregarded in matters that were of any social importance, or which required him to be viewed and handled according to his true status.

"I have been with them since Bakuub summoned me. I told him of the situation, then he summoned me in person. After I told him what I knew he wanted evidence. He and several others retrieved U'darajhe's gauntlet. The idiot had recorded most of what happened, although I don't think he meant to," Mar'cte told.

"Yet, there was not enough respect for me and my position as not only an elite hunter, but her only mate, to show me first before anyone could see. I am last to know this information, and I know precisely why. I've grown tired Mar'cte," Kujhade said as they made their way to the council's chambers. Mar'cte only gave him a knowing nod as they finally walked through the doors.

As before when they had judged Jasmine and the rest of the women, Bakuub was sitting in his customary position. The other elders were there except Setg'in. He was absent, and for some reason that made Kujhade feel better. At least one of his biggest enemies had not seen his mate in such a predicament. Or so he thought, until he looked up and saw that Setg'in had indeed been invited via video feed to the meeting. Kujhade pinned Bakuub with a stern glare. He could see something approaching regret in Bakuub's face, but that wasn't good enough. He knew that Kujhade had been disrespected in this issue, but there was no taking it back now. Still, Kujhade would not allow this to pass without saying something. For now, he needed to know what they had seen, and what they had discussed behind his back.

"Kujhade, as you are aware we have convened to discuss this urgent matter. Your mate has killed one of our own. What do you know about this?" Bakuub asked, not wasting any time with formalities or greetings.

"I know that in a one on one situation, my mate was attacked by a blooded hunter, and triumphed over him. I know that makes her blooded, and I know she should take a trophy from him. I know that a bad blood is dead, and she is not," Kujhade said, much to the surprise of everyone there except Mar'cte who gave a nod in agreement.

"Not yet she's not dead," Setg'in offered from the screen on the wall.

"And just what does that mean? Would that please you if she died?" Bakuub asked, tired already of Setg'in and his antics.

"It wouldn't hurt me any, but that's not what I meant. I am simply aware of her condition, and it doesn't seem too promising," he said looking straight at Kujhade to gauge a reaction.

"If you were here before me, your condition would not be too promising either," Kujhade said, liking the slight look of shock on Setg'in's face.

"Was that a threat Kujhade?" He asked, with an incredulous look and tone.

"Yes," Kujhade answered, as the council collectively gasped and growled at him.

"Kujhade settle down!" Bakuub exclaimed, only to receive a glare from Kujhade.

"I will not settle down. I have had enough of being treated with dishonor. Bakuub tell me, in a case such as this did I or did I not have the right to be made aware of all the details and this so called recording before anyone else, even you?" Kujhade asked pointedly, putting Bakuub front and center. Bakuub clicked his mandibles, irritated beyond measure, mainly because Kujhade was correct.

"Yes," came the short answer.

"Yet, this was not done. Care to elaborate on why?" Kujhade asked, finally wanting to address the heart of the matter.

"Because you are not part of this clan. Because you were to die as a pup, yet by some mistake you did not. Because you are not worthy of even the small recognition you receive despite being a so called elite hunter. At least, that has been my reasoning until a short time ago Kujhade," The Old Hunter said, getting to his feet and looking Kujhade in the eyes. The younger yautja was taken completely by surprise to hear it put so bluntly. By the looks on their faces, everyone else felt the same way.

"I am old, young pup. I have lived by the traditions of our people proudly all that time. When you came along, I too had no desire to associate with you on any level. However, I have seen you conduct yourself with such a degree of honor, that it is we who are unworthy of your presence, not the other way around. In the face of many adversities mostly concerning your mate, you have not acted outside the bounds of tradition nor honor a single time, and for that you should not be punished, but rewarded," Yeyinde said, stunning everyone else present into silence. Even Setg'in said nothing in rebuttal. Others at least had the good sense to look shamefaced.

"Do not keep the pup waiting Bakuub. Show him and tell him what he should have known first," the Old Hunter said as he took his seat again.

Without a word Bakuub displayed the video feed from beginning to end. He saw how she had been beaten, choked, smacked, hair pulled, and made to sexually satisfy one who was not even worthy to be called by his name. Then he saw how she had used the only opportunity she had, in order to overcome such a powerful opponent. She had plunged the knife into his heart, and cut him open down almost to his sex organ. She had screamed. A guttural cry worthy of a battle which was hard fought for her. The video went on to record her killing the other human female, which the council members seemed not to understand the purpose. It was Mar'cte that had to fill in that part, telling them of how Brenda had confessed to her part. All of them nodded in complete understanding then.

Kujhade's anger at what had happened to her was abated only by watching her victory, although it was bittersweet. She had still endured him. Being aware of her past similar experiences drove home the impact this would potentially have on her for Kujhade. This was not the first time she had been in the grips of a bad blood male, who was taking sex from her simply because he was strong enough. It was an act so foreign in practice to the yautja, that only a bad blood would have the gall to even try on any female. He waited as the council seemed to wordlessly agree on something. Kujhade couldn't imagine what the issue was. It was quite clear what had happened. A yautja had been bested by what he assumed was his prey. Happened all the time.

"We will not punish her for her actions. It is clear to us that U'darajhe acted in a way befitting only a bad blood, and was dealt with in the only way a bad blood should be dealt with. For killing him, she is to be regarded as a blooded warrior, and she may have a trophy from him albeit we know that is not the usual ooman way. As for her killing the other female, we have no care about that. As far as we have heard of her involvement, she was nothing more than a bad blood in her own right. Her end was befitting," Bakuub said, as they all began to get ready to leave.

"One more thing, Bakuub," Yeyinde said once he got to his feet. Bakuub turned to give Yeyinde his attention.

"What is that Old Hunter?" Bakuub asked, having a feeling of what he was going to say.

"I believe that we should not deny Kujhade the right to life mate his human. And if you cannot find it within yourself to oversee the life mating ritual, then I will," Yeyinde said, looking curiously at Kujhade as if truly seeing him for the first time.

Everyone was shocked, but only a few agreed with what the Old Hunter was saying. It seemed that what change had taken place in his mind, did not extend fully to his fellow council members.

"You would do that?" Kujhade and Bakuub asked simultaneously.

"Yes, I would. After the chiva it should be done, unless you want to do it as soon as she is able?" Yeyinde asked Kujhade.

"As soon as she is able. I do not believe I should wait anymore," Kujhade said, relieved at the turn of events. He had been prepared to fight should anyone say anything against Jasmine or what she did. He looked over at Mar'cte who gave him his easy smile and a clap on the shoulder.

"This is good brother. Jasmine will be very happy," Mar'cte leaned in to say. Kujhade nodded as they all left the council chambers.

* * *

He knew it wasn't anything that humans typically did, but he would get it for her anyway. She deserved a trophy from U'darajhe, and he was going to make sure she had at least the choice to say yes or no. He went back up to the medic bay, not too far from where Jasmine lay resting. It was there that any bodies were taken. They didn't have a morgue per se, because if they died it was in the field. U'darajhe's body was simply laid on a slab, stripped of any piece of technology he had on him at the time, which was nothing more than the gauntlet he wore. On the rare occasion that one of them died while not on a hunt, they did have a sort of service. The yautja would be dressed in their best clothing, no tech, and at least two weapons. Then they would burn the body in a funeral pyre. U'darajhe would enjoy no such honor. He would be unceremoniously cast out into space, along with his trophies which were now meaningless.

Kujhade walked right into the dimly lit room. U'darajhe lay bare without cover, his innards visible. Kujhade hovered over it, wishing he could kill him again and again, but that was neither here nor there. He flipped the dead body over, and simply ripped the entire spinal column with the skull right out of him. It felt filthy in his hands, but this wasn't his trophy anyway. It belonged to Jasmine, and he would prepare it for her to keep. If she wanted it fine, and if she did not, that would also be fine. At this point, Kujhade was prepared to give her any desire of her heart.

He quickly went down to his own quarters, prepared the trophy by cleaning and polishing it, then cleaned himself before going back to check on Jasmine. All of that took just over an hour. When he got back up to the medical bay of the ship, he went directly to Jasmine. He found several medics hovered around her sleeping form, looking both excited and a little worried. Kujhade became worried as well. They all turned to look at the large pale yautja as he simply stood in the doorway.

"Is she alright? What is happening here?" He asked, trying to keep himself under control until they spoke. After that he would decide either who to thank or who to kill.

The head medic was a female that was just a little shorter than Kujhade. She sported purple speckling all around her lower jaw and crest, a very comely feature. She stepped forward

"I am Lijia the head medic here. Are you her mate?" Lijia asked, appraising this strange yautja male that she had heard so much about, but had never seen. Everyone told her he looked abnormal, but aside from his coloring there was nothing here that she did not see as appealing.

"Yes, I am. Is she alright?" He asked again impatiently.

"She will be fine, however there is something I wish to show you," Lijia said, motioning for him to follow her to the 3d image of Jasmine's body. The other medics made room, moving to the side but still excitedly chattering among themselves.

"Of course this is an image of your mate's health," Lijia stated, casting a sidelong glance at Kujhade, and standing closer than she needed to, but not too close. She pointed to the image's abdomen, where a small green light was revolving a flashing.

"Here, you can see something, extraordinary. Do you know what that is warrior?" Lijia said smoothly, her golden eyes lingering long on Kujhade's face and green eyes. Kujhade shook his head impatiently. He wished she would just tell him what was going on.

"This is a suckling. Your ooman mate is pregnant. Were you unaware of it?" She asked a stunned Kujhade.

He looked from the image to the woman that lay in the healing chamber, then back to the image. He couldn't believe it. Jasmine was carrying his pup? A slow smile spread across his face, as he made his way to the turning image. He reached for it, but his hand went right through it. Of course it did. He turned to Lijia, whom he caught giving him a very slow once over. He ignored the obvious look.

"Tell me, is this real? Is she really carrying my pup?" He asked just to be sure before he let his heart burst with the pride of being a sire again.

"Yes, she is. Unless you want us to rid her of it? It would be a hybrid, and most likely weakened by her genetic input," Lijia offered casually. She was surprised by how this seemingly calm giant, turned so quickly on her. Kujhade growled loudly and had to stop himself from grabbing the medic by the throat.

"You will do no such thing!" He roared. "It is my pup, and I know who the mother is, and I do not need you meddling in my affairs!" He yelled in Lijia's face.

She wasn't bothered by his outburst. She knew this one would want his pup. She had never met him before, but news of who he was and his ignominious position was widespread. However, Lijia saw nothing in him that was undesirable, and had she been able to still bear pups, would have gladly bore several for him. She cast a glance at Jasmine. It seemed she met this large male a little too late. She clicked her mandibles a little in thought. If she could not bear pups for him she would at least make sure the one he had coming would make it, and that meant making sure the mother was strong enough. Lijia had her concerns over Jasmine's ability to bear a yautja pup. They were large, and the head was quite a bit bigger than a human. Lijia formed a plan.

"Hunter, I will not attempt to destroy what you so obviously desire to have. However, your mate may not be able to birth it without endangering her health. She certainly won't live long enough to raise it. Humans have pathetically short life spans. I can make her stronger, live longer, stay younger longer, would you like that?" Lijia purred, unable to help herself.

Kujhade's tusks went slack at both the obvious flirtation, and the implication of what she had just said. He closed his mouth after a few seconds, and shook his head. He did not trust anyone anymore where it concerned Jasmine. Who knew what this female was up to. She might have been jealous and wanted to get rid of his suckling. The answer was no.

"No, I do not trust you and I do not know you. Why would you want to help us?" Kujhade questioned.

"I want to help you because I cannot have you, although I wish I could. Are you willing to take on another mate Kujhade?" Lijia asked. No use in playing coy. It wasn't the way a female got the male she wanted. You had to speak up for what you wanted.

Kujhade was taken completely off guard. Where was this coming from, and where was this female when he was desperately searching for one? She was too late. If his relationship with Jasmine had been in its earlier stages, he would have taken her on as a second mate, but too much had happened already. Jasmine simply meant too much. This female was just not an option now. Lijia shook her head, her lower mandibles lifting in a smile. His lack of an answer, was answer enough.

"All that is required is a small amount of your blood. You can heal her and give her long life," she said. Lijia strolled across the room to retrieve a small set of knives from the storage hidden in the wall. The long purple loincloth that marked her rank in the medical and scientific class, brushed the floor elegantly as she walked. She was lithe for her kind, and young looking except the gray of her long tendrils. Lijia carried herself with grace and confidence, and Kujhade couldn't deny that he could certainly see the attraction. She strolled back over towards him with the tray of small sharp instruments, and simply placed it in his hands.

"It is your decision, but all you need do is allow some of your life's blood to flow here," she said, pointing out a small valve on top of the healing chamber. It connected to a tube that was being used to administer pain medication to Jasmine intravenously.

"She will benefit greatly from that," Lijia stated. She lingered only a moment, before she gracefully left him with his decision.

* * *

 _A few hours later:_

He had done as Lijia suggested. Kujhade had allowed his blood to flow freely into that valve, and then he waited. He kept casting his eyes as the turning image of his mate, and the green revolving light that represented their offspring. He couldn't believe that some good news had come of this. Not only was Jasmine impregnated, but apparently his blood would allow her to heal faster. Kujhade lifted the top of her healing chamber, needing to touch her flesh. She was sweating and had begun to move her fingers. He thought she would have another of those episodes, so he prepared by getting a good grip on her. She may need to be turned over like before. He was careful with her. He waited on edge for her to spasm, but she did not. He lightly stroked her cheek and brow, purring softly to her and willing her to awaken.

"Ugghnnn," she groaned, her brow furrowed. Kujhade kicked up his purring.

"Aaahh….'Jhade" Jasmine said weakly as her eyes fluttered open. Her translator was gone, but he heard a part of his name.

Jasmine looked at him with her one good eye. He fingers came up to her face feeling it, and wincing every time she touched it.

"Kujhade? Wh-what happened to me?" Jasmine asked starting to panic. Kujhade didn't seem to understand her. She tried to get up, and was stopped by the sudden sharp pain in her ribs. She flopped back on her bed in pain, and then howled again because the motion hurt her head, and caused her to become nauseous. Jasmine had to lean over to vomit, but it was nothing more than a painful dry heave.

Kujhade leaned down to hold her, purring, and taking the towel he had cleaned from earlier and wiped her face with it.

"Kujhade what happened?" She asked again. He purred more, but did not respond in the way he usually would, as in answer the question. He simply purred at her, and continued to rub her head and face affectionately.

She was about to ask the question again until it all came flooding back to her. She lay back, as the images of U'darajhe played back in her mind. The pain. All she could think about was the pain of his strikes. Then another memory. Brenda. She had betrayed her tremendously, yet Jasmine couldn't help but feel a loss. She had killed Brenda. She remembered the feel of the blade as it went through the woman she still couldn't help but think of as her friend. Everything hurt. The tears came, hot rivulets down her cheeks. The crying made her head and eyes throb, and her ribs come alive with pain, but she couldn't stop. She had to let it out.

Not needing a translator or any words, Kujhade gathered her in his arms, and allowed her to cry on his chest. He trapped the vibration of his purr there, letting it flow through him and into her. She wrapped her arms around him as best she could, and let the emotion take her for a while. Medics came in, curious about what was happening, but Kujhade waved them away. After a few minutes her sobbing turned into sniffling, as she pulled back from him.

"I have to see her 'Jhade. I have to see Brenda," she said and was surprised at the low growl. He heard the traitor's name, and couldn't help himself. Yet, he seemed still not to respond. It was as if he didn't understand her. Then it dawned on her. It had been burrowed in her flesh so long, she had forgotten what it felt like to be without it. Her hand went to her neck and gingerly caressed the bruised skin there. The translation collar was gone.

"Brenda, I have to see her. Where is she?" Jasmine asked no one in particular. When she tried to get up, Kujhade held her closer to him, not willing to let her go. He figured out that for some reason she wanted to see the female she'd killed. He thought briefly that she may have wanted a trophy from her too. It was odd for human behavior, but he supposed it was okay.

Instead of letting her get up, he lifted her in his arms like a groom carrying his bride. It was quick work to detach her from the healing chamber she was in. He could always put her back in it. They left the room together and walked the short way down the hall to the room where U'darajhe lay. On a slab next to him was Brenda. Jasmine turned her head from the site of her slain tormentor, and buried her face in the crook of Kujhade's neck. When he passed the dead yautja, Jasmine lifted her head, careful to look only at Brenda's body. Kujhade placed Jasmine carefully on her feet, still supporting her with one arm around her waist.

She winced with every step and movement, but she was determined to see Brenda's face one last time. They hadn't even bothered to close her eyes. Jasmine closed them, and caressed her face. She said nothing as fresh tears sprung to her eyes, but didn't fall. She leaned down and kissed the blonde's forehead, smoothing the hair away from it.

"I'm sorry B. I'm sorry it had to be this way, but maybe you'll find some peace now," Jasmine whispered quietly.

She stood up straight and motioned to Kujhade to pick her up. He did so and carried her back to her own room. She didn't protest when he lay her back down. Just then Lijia made an appearance, looking genuinely delighted to see that Jasmine was awake.

"I see you made the correct choice pale hunter," she said in her smooth, distinctly feminine voice. "Have you given her the news of your pup?" She asked, striding over with a very small device in her hands.

"No, I haven't," he answered watching Lijia very closely.

"I am not going to harm her, I simply wish to replace that ridiculous collar with something less intrusive," Lijia reassured Kujahde, showing him the small device. He nodded his approval before looking to Jasmine. He nodded to her as well, trying to communicate that this was alright.

Jasmine lay still. If Kujhade trusted it, then it was okay. Lijia took the small device that looked almost like a hearing aid with a small needle and an extremely short wire. It hurt no more than a pinprick right near the base of her skull, the rest put directly in her ear, and then Lijia was done.

"Jasmine, are you okay my mate?" Kujhade asked, eager for them to understand each other's speech again.

"Yeah, well I'm as okay as I can be right now," Jasmine said.

"Why did you want to see that traitor? She put you in the hands of one who would kill you," Kujhade asked, needing to understand that gesture.

"Just because I did what I had to do, doesn't mean I stopped loving her. She was the only human friend I had here," Jasmine said sadly, and not wanting to discuss it anymore. She quickly changed the subject before Kujhade could ask any more questions about it.

"What is that Kujhade? Is that me?" She asked pointing to the revolving 3D image of her body. Kujhade looked and remembered suddenly the good news he wanted to share.

"Yes, it shows the state of your body. Wounds, injuries, other things too," He said, marching over to it. His energy was a nervous excitement that Jasmine had never experienced from him. It made her smile.

"Do you know what this is?" Kujhade said pointing out the green light revolving around her abdomen.

"Nuh uh. What is it?" She said, getting excited because he seemed to be.

"That is our pup," Kujhade said, and he looked as if he were ready to just burst open with pride right there on the spot.

At first Jasmine just smiled at it, until it dawned what he said. Their pup? Their pup! Meaning she was… Jasmine sat straight up, albeit painfully and very slowly.

"Pregnant? Kujhade don't play with me right now! Are you saying I'm fucking pregnant?!" Jasmine said, feeling happy in spite of her condition. She could think about all the ramifications later. Right now, she was going to have a baby, with her soon-to-be alien husband.

Kujhade stood straight, chest puffed out more than ever, a smile on his face, and he was grunting and clicking and purring. Jasmine took in the sight. Male pride at its finest.

"Don't stand there and give me that look, like you're so damn proud of yourself and your…boys!" she said giggling and trying to fake angry at the same time. Kujhade simply poked his chest out even more.

"I am proud of myself. I impregnated you much faster than I thought I would. Why didn't you tell me you were having my pup?" Kujhade asked, not knowing how a female could not be aware of it.

"I didn't know. I mean my period is a little late, but this is earlier than people would be able to tell. We would have had to do a blood test, but under normal Earthly conditions, I wouldn't have thought I was pregnant yet," she tried to explain. He shook his head, as if to say it wasn't important after all.

"We will train only lightly when you are able to again. I do not want to harm the suckling. Also, since you are awake now we should life mate. The Old Hunter will do the ritual," Kujhade was saying a mile a minute. It was too much for Jasmine to take in, who was still reeling from the baby news. She was rubbing her stomach, not paying too much attention until she heard him talk about the "wedding".

"Wait, how long was I out, damn? A whole lot of stuff happened didn't it?" She asked, still rubbing her flat belly.

Kujhade nodded, pacing back and forth between her and the image of her, and "checking" on the holographic baby. Jasmine smiled even though it hurt her face. He looked so damn cute like this. Who knew that ruthless alien killing machines got excited to be dad's too? He was chattering to himself, too low for Jazzy to hear. It was as if he were going over a checklist in his mind.

"What the hell are you mumbling and clicking about 'Jhade?" She asked light-heartedly. He paused, looked at her, then back at the "baby". He couldn't keep his eyes off of it. He then began to chatter and click to himself again.

"We need to be life mated first, that is first. As soon as possible. The Old Hunter will do it. Then I will need to care for you, you must not come into any more trouble. We must protect our pup. Then, we must train, but lightly, very lightly. We will name him Mar'cte, because he is or brother. Did I tell you that Mar'cte thinks of you as his sister? Very high honor indeed. I need a gift, a special trophy for you. Speaking of trophy, I cleaned one from U'darajhe for you. If you want it that is fine, if you do not I will dispose of it. The council has made you a blooded warrior now, so you have respect and rank…." Kujhade went on and on non-stop.

"Wait, wait, time out," Jasmine said, making the universal time out gesture. "Did you say you had a trophy for me from that, that, that monster? Kujhade I don't want that, I don't want it," she said, her body shivering at the memory. Kujhade paused his chattering to consider her carefully.

"Jasmine, you do not have to keep it, as I know it is not the way of humans, but you earned it. I got it for you just in case. You should think about it. You are blooded now, whether you intended to be or not, and the council has understood it that way. Just consider it, please," Kujhade said sincerely. She hated the thought, but there was little that he could ask her that she would not at least try to give. If he was asking that she consider it more carefully then she would, she really would.

"You know, we should life mate right now. I will go and get Yeyinde, he will not mind," Kujhade said, getting ready to do just that.

"No, don't do that. I'm not ready," Jazzy said, absently touching her face. The yautja had no use for mirrors, but she didn't need one in order to know she was a swollen bruised mess.

"Why wait? What if something else happens my mate? I cannot bear another moment without this," he said as he came back from the door over to her, kneeling in front of her as she sat on the edge of the chamber.

"But, I'm ugly now Kujhade," she said in a small voice. He shook his head emphatically.

"No, you are not. You are strong. Each wound is a testament to strength and endurance," he told her.

"Strong, strong, strong…" he said, touching each different wound, cut or bruise every time he said the word.

"Okay," she said, her voice small and wavering with emotion. "But, 'Jhade if we're getting married, then I have to get you something too."

"No, it is my duty to give to you. You are a female, pregnant no less. A high honor to be life mated by a female pregnant with your pup. It means she will not bear sucklings for anyone else, because you are the best male of possible choosing. I have never been bestowed a greater honor," Kujhade said, moving closer to her, nuzzling her softly and purring again.

* * *

It was held right in the room. Jasmine insisted on standing next to Kujhade, as he kneeled and presented her his gifts. The tail he had gotten from the beast he hunted, had not been a trophy for himself. The bone in it was considered a valuable material not unlike Ivory on Earth. He had given it to some of the craftsmen on board, and they had fashioned the smaller tail bones into a beautiful necklace. Its polished surface glinted even in the softer lights of her healing room. The bones were as long as her forearm, and they were strung horizontally, creating a sort of breastplate looking ornamental jewelry. It would have hung between the breasts of a large yautja female, but for Jasmine, it came a little past her hips. It was surprisingly light for its size, and was not at all uncomfortable although it wasn't something she thought she would wear every day.

"Kujhade, with these gifts you are making an oath on the strength of your honor and that of your clan, that you will not take another mate, as long as the female agrees to be bound by such," Yeyinde said, a solemn tone in his voice. He reached into a bowl of very fresh smelling herbs, and tossed a handful at Kujhade dusting his crest with it. He turned to Jasmine.

"Jasmine, you have accepted the gifts from our brother, and are now part of this clan. You will not bear pups for any other male, as long as either of you should live," He then did the same to her, dusting her with the fresh herbs.

"I don't have anything to give you Kujhade," she said wanting to do something to signify her love for him in front of the small group gathered to witness it.

Mar'cte, and a few others whom she recognized as council members, herself, and Kujhade were the only attendants.

"You are not required to give," he said gently to her.

"Well, where I come from I at least have to say something, and I will," she said. The room went hush as she started to speak. All of them were curious as to the human version of this custom.

"I just wanna say, that when I came here, I hated it. I hated being captured, I hated not having a say in what happened to me. I was scared of you, all of you. I thought you would kill me. I didn't know what to expect day by day. Then, you started talking to me. You seemed like you wanted to get to know me. You gave me what I needed, even though I know you didn't understand that. Somewhere along the line, I fell in love with you. I thought my life had ended when I was brought her, but really it began when I met you. I love you so much Kujhade," she said, happy tears falling.

"I never thought it was possible for someone to love me too, now I get to have really the man of my dreams, and I get to have a baby. I don't know what will happen in the future, but I know I want to be with you no matter what. I have nothing to give you today except the love in my heart, and a promise to be the best mom, and wife that I can be," she said, stepping up to him and kissing him on the mouth for all to see.

They all sort of gasped at her boldness to show love for one of their kind. They had simply never seen anything like it before. Kujhade almost couldn't contain his excitement. She had shown open affection in front of the elders, and no one said anything against it, or expressed any disdain. It was more than he had hoped for. It was perfect. Nothing fancy, because it didn't need to be. He life mated her as he lived, simply and without a whole lot of unnecessary things involved. He decided right here to give her another gift. Something he knew she wanted.

"Jasmine," he said, as she finally stopped covering him with light, chaste kisses. She pulled back to look into his eyes. Those enigmatic green pools that she could get lost in.

"I…I feel. Jasmine, you are here," he said, beating his chest two times lightly. "Equal to the hunt." She smiled so brightly, it truly gladdened his heart.

"I love you too 'Jhade, so much," she said as they embraced each other, surrounded by their clan. In his own way he had told her he loved her, and it meant everything.


	24. Chiva part 1

_One Week After the Wedding:_

Kujhade had informed her that he had given her much of his blood, as well as told her about Lijia's concerns. It had really helped. Her ribs were sore, but it wasn't as difficult to breathe. Her nose had healed perfectly fine, where only a small cut could be seen on the bridge. Lijia told her that she had a seizure, news that scared Jasmine. She was concerned now over the baby, but Lijia assured her that yautja sucklings were very resilient, and also that Jasmine would be fine now that she had received proper care. She was also warned that being pregnant with a yautja pup might change her physically in ways she may not expect, but that she would be there to help Jasmine with anything that she might need.

Today was the day of the chiva. Jasmine had never seen such buzz and activity, and that was saying something for a ship that was never really void of it. Kujhade was busier than he had ever been, helping to prepare the young bloods to be deployed to the seeding planet. In the kehrite, no one was training. It was more or less empty, and the only reason Kujhade was there was to make sure no young bloods were still hanging around.

Kujhade had dressed Jasmine in full yautja female regalia. Her hair was in a faux hawk. He had a skirt/loincloth made for her that was less makeshift than the one he had tied around her from his pelts. She wore the wedding gift he had given her made of bones around her neck, with only a small piece of leather tied across her breasts, which buckled with two straps in front. Jasmine also sported her recurve bow on her back, and a small quiver of arrows slung on her hip. She still had her sneakers on, and for effect, she had procured some make up to put on that Lijia gave her. It really was just a black ochre of some type that she said the females put on for special occasions such as the chiva. Jasmine decided that she would cover the lingering bruise on her eye, by smearing the ochre under and around it in what she hoped was a tribal design. She even put some on like lipstick using a little compact mirror she found in the bottomless crates.

Everyone had convened in the humungous hangar. There had to be hundreds of yautja present, as they milled around. Many older hunters were assisting the young bloods with last minute armor preparations, weapon sharpening and checking, uploading last minute coordinates and syncing the clan ship to each gauntlet, and everywhere they stood in small groups doing what Jasmine thought of as hyping each other for the hunt. Some males were standing in groups of three all the way up to groups of ten, grunting, growling, and stamping their feet or beating their armored chests rhythmically.

Kujhade led her by the wrist, as they walked by each group. Most yautja openly stared at them, some males even grunting or purring at Jasmine. Kujhade's aggression was heightened as he warned them off with exaggerated growls and mandible flaring. It only worked slightly, as the males never really stopped doing what Jasmine figured was yautja aimless flirting, and grandstanding. However, these were young males getting ready to do the most important thing they've ever done, so a bit of acting out was to be expected. Jasmine took it all in stride and even smiled a bit and waved their way, a gesture they seemed to understand perfectly. u Kujhade saw it, making sure to pull her a little closer to him, but he never became angry.

"You are getting a lot of attention from younger males. I will have to make sure to mark you again when you are a bit better," he leaned in to tell her, his sexual innuendo not going unnoticed.

"I would like that very much, and you can even mark me in places others can't see," she teased in a silky voice.

"Do not tempt me, I have a mind to mate and mark you here in front of everyone. Then there can be no doubt," he teased back, but something about the way he'd said it made her think he really did have a mind to do just that.

"You're so damn kinky 'Jhade. That's an interesting thought though. I've had sex in public before, but I was trying to hide still. Never did it with an audience, at least not one that I was aware of," she said, kind of thinking about it and couldn't help but be just a little turned on.

"Do you want to? We are accustomed to such activity. I don't know that I want every male knowing how my ooman female mates though. Your mating scent is very sweet, very fertile smelling. On second thought, it is only for me to smell. No mating in the open," he said grabbing her around the waist firmly, clicking his mandibles in thought about how a scene like that would play out.

"Maybe we could give them something to talk about. You might be able to talk me into it if you try hard enough," she teased and rubbed herself against him as they made their way through the dense crowd.

"Perhaps," Kujhade said, purring a little and grabbing a handful of her butt. She had taught him the ways of feeling her up, but he hadn't learned subtlety along with it. In truth Jasmine didn't mind it too much. Let the rest of them gawk. Kujhade probably needed to show off a little. Maybe show all those yautja females what they missed out on.

They made their way through the bustling crowd towards the middle of the hangar where Bakuub seemed as though he was getting ready to speak. Kujhade let her wrist go and motioned her to stand where the other females were. There were only a few human women left, maybe about twenty not including her. The ones who had been singled out as a mate for the elite hunters were dressed in similar garb to Jasmine, and they greeted her kindly. The women who had been made to be the sexual playthings to the males on the ship wore their own clothes such as they were. It was the yautja females that caught Jasmine's attention and held it. They were large and carried themselves with a very regal air. They in turn seemed to size her up. Mostly it was just curiosity. Who had Kujhade ended up with, was the look most of them had on their faces. Just wanted to know how this little ooman looked, that thought she could sweep in and take one of their males, even though they hadn't wanted him. Jasmine seemed to pass muster for the most part, with many of the females taking their look and then not paying her any more attention. Only Lijia came over to stand next to Jasmine, give her an appraising look, and then nod her approval. Jasmine looked as much like a yautja female as she was ever going to. It seemed she had really taken to Jasmine in the short time they had been acquainted, and it extended past a doctor patient relationship. It was leaning more towards friendship, and Jasmine had to admit to herself that she was sort of hoping to figure out the females of their species. They seemed aloof for the most part, and a lot less welcoming into the fold than the males, and that was a big deal. The males were anti-social enough.

Bakuub punched a few buttons into his gauntlet and suddenly you could hear him everywhere. He was about to speak, and the entire hangar grew as quiet as hundreds of yautja could make it.

"This is the beginning of the hunt for all of you who are headed to your chiva. This is the first real test of your strength, endurance, hunting ability, and honor. All the training you have received has more than prepared you for this. We have equipped you purposely with inferior armor, and basic but reliable weapons. Many of you will not return, but you will have died with honor. Remember, as with any hunt keep your wits about you. Never show fear, never submit, show no mercy, show no pity, show no remorse. The kiande amedha are fearsome prey, and will not hesitate to kill any in their path. Be ready for anything and act accordingly. Do not rely on even your brothers for help as no help will come to you. This trial you must overcome on your own. There are queens there, as well as nests. For extra reward and recognition, kill the queen if you must, destroy a nest if you come across it. Take your trophies, mark yourselves with the symbol of this clan upon your first kill. Now go! No mercy! No fear! No mercy! No fear!" Bakuub began a chant as all of the yautja joined in, rumbling and growling as an entire group, which sent a vibration that Jasmine could feel even through the floor.

Bakuub looked impressive donned in a long black cape, his gray tendrils the most decorated out of all the males, and armor that was scant but beautiful. It looked something like hematite, the dark steel gray glistening under the lights. All of the young bloods got into the small, single occupancy pods that would deliver them to the area of the planet they would begin their hunt on. In small groups every few minutes, the pods took off into space. It was an epic sight to see, and Jasmine was excited even though she wasn't headed off to any chivas, and hoped she never had to face a hard meat. Kujhade had explained what they were and what they could do, and they were in many ways much more frightening than a yautja on the hunt.

While the small ships were leaving, a single ship arrived and landed out of the way of outgoing traffic. In the midst of all the activity, Setg'in disembarked, looking no worse for wear. As if he had not been gone for an extended amount of time, he strode over to where Bakuub and other council members were standing. Kujhade was speaking with Bakuub and Yeyinde about something, when he spotted Setg'in coming their way. Quickly Kujhade scanned the crowd for Jasmine, and found her still around the females, speaking with Lijia. He turned his attention back towards Setg'in and let out a low growl. He remembered the threat he had issued. One he had not issued lightly.

"That was a rousing speech you gave to the young bloods Bakuub. Too bad most of them won't make it past the first wave of hard meats," Setg'in said. He approached amicably enough, but Bakuub was not as welcoming.

"Setg'in. You have been absent a long time. I will speak with you later on the subject of your whereabouts, but for now there is a chiva that needs overlooking," Bakuub said. He was truly notorious for cutting right to the chase.

"My whereabouts?" Setg'in said, feigning innocence. "I've been assisting with the seeding process as you bid me to do." Bakuub glared at Setg'in for a second, debating whether or not to go into it. He ended up not being able to help himself. He had let enough things slide, and if it went any further there would be a serious challenge to his authority waiting to happen. In fact, it was already happening.

"You take me for a fool Setg'in, but I am well past the end of my patience with you," Bakuub warned. Setg'in grinned at him.

"You are well past the end of a lot of things, your patience not being on the top of that list," Setg'in said, smarting off once again.

No one was expecting it, not even really Setg'in. He suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a backhanded slap so hard, that it disjointed his lower mandible, without quite breaking it.

"You have challenged my authority for the last time Setg'in! Fight, or stand down!" Bakuub shouted, readying his spear just in case Setg'in wanted to fight, although he knew that was not the way of this elder. Setg'in chose to use less direct means to get what he wanted, which in this case was Bakuub's position, and maybe his head on a platter.

All the young bloods were now departed, and the yautja who remained in the hangar were alerted to the altercation taking place now. At any moment, there could be a fight to the death, and the leadership position might change hands, just like that. Jasmine looked at Kujhade with wide eyes, not knowing whether he would jump in it or not. He looked to her and gave her a motion to stay well out of the way. Lijia was about to leave, but came back once the commotion started. She took up a protective stance over Jasmine, and Kujhade gave her a nod of gratitude. Jasmine saw the exchange, and could have sworn Lijia's crest flared a bright green, then it faded quickly. She was blushing. Jasmine decided to put that on the back burner for now. She was more concerned with whether or not she would have to jump into a yautja fight, because she would be damned if she was going to let them jump Kujhade if it came to that.

At the moment, there was a Mexican standoff between Bakuub who seemed like he was really sick of Setg'in's shit, and Setg'in who looked like he was going to spike Bakuub's drink later to get revenge. Instead of anyone stepping in to stop it as Jasmine thought they would, everyone stood back to let whatever happened happen. No one said a word, as the two elder yautja's stared each other down.

Finally, Setg'in let out a deep chuckle, rubbing his lower tusk and popping it back into place.

"I had forgotten how powerful your blows were Bakuub, impressive. However, I have no intention of battling you," Setg'in said. There was something slick in his tone, a threat was placed in it somewhere although it was hard to detect.

It seemed to Jasmine that this Setg'in character was playing around somehow. Like he knew something that the rest of them didn't. She couldn't put her finger on it, and she didn't know him or the dynamics at play here, but she knew when someone called themselves being slick, and Setg'in was as slick as a greased seal right now. From all that she had witnessed, a smack like that from one male to another warranted an all-out fight. Especially since it was elders who were doing it. Yet, Setg'in had not made any move to get into a physical altercation at all. It went against everything she had learned about them. Yeah they each had their own distinct personalities, but this seemed way out of character for even a so-called docile male. Jasmine found herself getting eye contact with Lijia, as they traded a look. So apparently, Jasmine wasn't alone in her opinion. Lijia looked puzzled at the lack of fighting going on at the moment. Everyone was sure there would be bloodshed, but Setg'in continued to make light of it all, and Bakuub warily put away his weapon, but he didn't seem mollified by Setg'in's jovial attitude.

Backing away to keep Setg'in in his sight, Bakuub said nothing more as he eventually pulled Yeyinde aside and spoke quietly to him about something. The Old Hunter nodded and set off, his stride long and back straight and proud to be one so old. Before he left the hangar altogether, he came over to Jasmine and Lijia.

"How are you little ooman? How is the suckling faring?" He asked. It was such a pleasant conversational question, and so completely at odds with the scene that had just played out, that it took Jasmine a few seconds to respond properly. Not knowing really how to address such a distinguished elder, Jasmine bowed slightly at the waist, which gave Yeyinde a good chuckle.

"We have no need of such formality, although the gesture is appreciated," he said, his golden eyes trained on her as if studying her. Jasmine blushed a little, slightly embarrassed by her unnecessary greeting.

"The baby's fine sir, I mean, Yeyinde," she said uncertain of the proper term of respect. He shook his head at being called sir. He knew it was a human custom of respect, and so didn't bother to correct her. He nodded and began to walk off.

"Thank you," Jasmine called to him. Yeyinde turned around to regard her again.

"Why are you thanking me little one?" He asked, in a tone that said he was curious about the answer.

"For performing our life mating ceremony. I never thanked you properly. It meant a lot to us," Jasmine said, smiling because the Old Hunter seemed to genuinely appreciate the acknowledgement.

"It was a simple matter, and was what needed to be done. No thanks are in order," he said, and left the area quietly and with purpose.

She watched him leave, feeling as though she wanted to say more. She felt as though if circumstances hadn't been what they were, that there was much she could have learned from him had he been willing to teach it. He was a being that had lived more than a millennium, had travelled the universe and seen many things that Jasmine could never even imagine, and he carried himself as though that were the case.

Bakuub and several other council members including Setg'in headed off in a different direction. Kujhade came over to Jasmine and grabbed her by the wrist again.

"Don't be alarmed. This type of thing happens all of the time. Bakuub and Setg'in have never gotten along," he said in an effort to make sure she was calmed.

"Lijia, thank you for keeping an eye on her," Kujhade said to the yautja female.

"It was my pleasure hunter," Lijia all but purred to him, and then had to cut it short when Jasmine looked her in the eyes.

Kujhade took Jasmine and walked with her leisurely through the hangar.

"It was my pleasure hunter," Jasmine purred in almost a perfect mimicry of Lijia, then smiled when he blushed.

"Do you like her 'Jhade?" Jasmine asked, marveling at the fact that he kept blushing, a deep green flashing across the crest of his head.

"I do not wish to mate her if that is what you are asking me," he said, his voice convincing but the blush on his face told a different story.

"I think you at least wanna get a little taste of it. I think you do want to have sex with her," Jasmine said playfully. Kujhade stopped and turned her to face him.

"I will not lie and tell you that I had not thought about it, but she is too late. I have been here for years, and these females have seen me the whole time and have ignored me. It is only because you openly show your affection and love for me that they now wish to show interest. But I like how easy it is to have sex with you without fighting, something yautja females could stand to learn how to do," he told her, his green eyes filling up with that glimmer Jasmine knew so well.

"I'm still not well enough for sex Kujhade, especially how we like to go at it," she said with a smirk, as he grabbed a handful of her butt, managing to lift her skirt a bit as well. She swatted him and giggled, as they made their way to the mess hall.

* * *

Yeyinde was sitting in the control room, monitoring the chiva from the main pilot seat. On several large screens were different live feeds of the hunt. Whenever a screen went dark, he knew that one of the young bloods had fallen in battle. Only two other yautja were in the room with him, each attending to his own responsibilities of maintaining the flight and trajectory of the ship.

The chiva was going as it always had. The most promising of the young bloods would make it through, the rest would perish. In this way, truly only the strong survived. Yeyinde recalled overlooking the chiva of a certain young blood named Setg'in. He was always eccentric according to yautja custom, but the Old Hunter never thought there was anything amiss. Set'gin was more cunning than any of the other young bloods he had gone in with, and it was that cunning that was the difference between life and death for him. Yeyinde had always been proud of his student, but within the last thirty or forty cycles or so, Yeyinde began to sense that there was more to Setg'in than a few eccentricities here and there. He began to think of Setg'in as a bad blood. Or at least as close to one as a yautja could get without ostracizing himself completely through his actions. Having designs on the leadership position was not an issue in and of itself, but Setg'in's unwillingness to challenge Bakuub outright was a big issue. For Yeyinde, only a coward would refuse the challenge despite having the opportunity to do so on many occasions. He began to sense that it wasn't cowardice that kept Setg'in from doing what he obviously wanted to do, it was the sly cunning. The kind of cunning that would make him lie about where he had been, when he had been sent to a single place, and had shown up at that place almost more than two weeks later than he should have.

Suddenly Yeyinde was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of two thumps. He was sitting with his back towards the door watching the chiva play out on the screens, but turned when he heard the noise. He looked at the door, then at the two yautja in the room with him. They seemed to have also heard it, but didn't pay it much attention. The Old Hunter stood and readied his spear, as bright green blood began to seep underneath the door. In a flash, before anyone could react, the doors slid open and a disc flew in decapitating both worker yautja before returning the way it had come. The Old Hunter took a look at the dead yautja, their blood flowing freely to cover the floor beneath them. A figure revealed itself just past the doorway, spear in one hand, and disc readied in the other. It was a yautja The Old Hunter had never seen before, but it didn't matter. With a slow nod, Yeyinde reached for his mask which was slung on his hip.

"It has been many cycles since my last hunt. As my life continued on, age settling in and taking the hunt further from my grasp, I feared that the honor of death in battle would escape me. But as Paya would have it, honor has found me once again. You have come here to kill Bakuub, this I know without you saying. However, you have found Yeyinde. I hope that you at least have the skill to send me into the arms of Cetanu as I desire," Yeyinde said as he put his mask on and extended his spear.

"A beautiful speech Old Hunter," Bhu'ja sneered. "You and Cetanu will become the best of friends," he said as he ran towards Yeyinde with a deafening roar.

* * *

 **A/N: I know, it's short. I wanted to make it longer, but I want to do the upcoming fights justice, and it felt thrown in to place it at the end. We're coming to the last couple of chapters, then I'll have to end it. If you haven't read my work before then you might be in for a treat if you liked the story, because I have a tendency to write in threes. So there will be more to this** **tale, even after I end this story.**

 **Special thanks to all those who have left reviews, favorited, and followed this story, and those who have done none of those things, but you read it faithfully. I really appreciate you all so much.**


	25. Chiva part 2

The mess hall was once again teeming with excited yautja. Everyone was talking about the chiva, and was watching it on the screens all across the walls. It was like Super Bowl Sunday times ten. Kujhade was seated across from her at what she had come to consider as "their table". In came Mar'cte strolling over to them, a large plate with a serious hunk of meat on it in his hand. He plopped down right next to Kujhade and immediately dug into the meat with his hand, clawed fingers cutting easily through it. Not too long after Lijia hailed them from a few tables away and came to sit down, so that she was across from Mar'cte and sitting next to Jasmine. Mar'cte looked up, food halfway to his mouth and stared at the female sitting across from him. He started trilling and purring at her, low at first then building as Lijia tried not to pay it any attention. He purred a little louder, and eventually Lijia trilled back at him lightly. He smiled and took a huge bite of food. Jasmine and Kujhade traded looks, and rolled their eyes at Mar'cte and his antics.

"So, who all sitting here thinks that Setg'in dude is full of shit?" Jasmine asked suddenly, taking a big bite of her own. She had more meat on her plate than she usually did, and was hungrier.

All of them mumbled their agreement.

"I can't help but feel he has something planned," Kujhade stated.

"He has to, because where I come from that's damn near a fight to the death just based off the humiliation alone," Jasmine offered through a mouthful of food.

"What I don't understand is what he has to gain by allowing himself to be humiliated in front of anyone?" Mar'cte asked, taking another big bite and watching Lijia like a hawk. Jasmine knew that look. It was the look of a man smitten by a woman.

"I can see that you guys are pretty straight forward. You don't have a whole lot of experience dealing with bastards that are just no good," Jasmine said, sitting back and looking at all three of them. They didn't seem to really get where she was going with her comments.

"What do you mean? We know about bad bloods," Kujhade said.

"Yeah? So why isn't Setg'in classified as one then?" She challenged. All three yautjas looked at each other, almost getting it but not quite.

"See, this is what I mean by you guys are super direct. He has to do something definitive to be termed a bad blood right?" She asked, as they all nodded.

"Sister, you must understand. A bad blood is a heavy title to be placed on any one of us, and it cannot be applied lightly," Mar'cte defended. Jasmine nodded.

"I get it. There are titles for us humans that are just as bad. No one wants to be a pedophile. Even just being accused of it, but not actually guilty could ruin your entire life and reputation. So I know about that, but if you're guilty you're guilty," Jasmine said. They all nodded except Lijia.

"What is a pedophile? We don't have a word for that," she asked.

"A child rapist," Jazzy answered much to the horror of the others.

"That is disgusting! There are humans who would force mate a pup?!" Kujhade exclaimed, pushing his food away. The others agreed.

"Yeah, and that's kind of my point. There are humans who are the lowest of the low, and they can be that way without killing, or raping. What they do is step over others, create situations where they come out on top no matter who they hurt, or who has to pay the consequences. Just so long as they get what they want, they will do anything to anyone, and they don't care about anyone but themselves. They are as much a bad blood as those who kill and rape," Jasmine said. She could see them thinking about what she said, and started to see her point.

"You have a point Jasmine. I don't believe we have ever thought about a bad blood who could be so without doing some provable act," Lijia said, thinking deeply about it.

"Do you believe Setg'in to be one of these new kinds of bad bloods," Kujhade asked Jasmine.

"Well, I don't know him but I know people like him. I've spent my life either avoiding or running into these kinds of jackasses. Just the way he was looking at Bakuub lets me know that he had some shit up his sleeve. Who lets anybody smack the shit out of them, and then walks away?" She asked them as they looked to her to answer her own question.

"Somebody who plans on getting his ass back in a big way. Something bigger than just fighting one on one. When you really wanna fuck somebody's life up, you don't fuck around in a street fight, you hit 'em where it hurts," Jasmine said, sitting back now that her belly was full. Kujhade's eyes lit up.

"He has always wanted Bakuub's position," he said.

"And he's gonna get it too," Jazzy responded.

"But that's isn't odd. This is a normal thing," Mar'cte said talking about Setg'in's desire.

"Yeah but he avoided taking it the way you guys take it. If he wanted it on the up and up he should have fought for it, but he didn't. So that means that he's gonna do some crazy shit to get it. Now, as far as you guys are concerned, what's the craziest way he can get that done without directly fighting Bakuub for it?" She asked. Kujhade and Mar'cte thought about it.

"He must fight. The position cannot be taken otherwise. It will not be acceptable to anyone," they both said. Lijia agreed.

"Okay," Jasmine said, really thinking about it. "Both of you guys hunt right?" They gave her a look. "Alright, alright. So you know how it is to try to kill something much bigger than you, more dangerous than you right?" She asked again.

"Of course we do, what is your point Jasmine?" Kujhade asked.

"Don't you ever trap it, or wound it before you go in for the kill?" She said, and that got their attention. Their eyes went wide.

"Exactly," she said, sitting back and thinking about the implications of what they were discussing. She was planting a seed, and she really didn't mean to, but it was quite obvious to her what Setg'in was all about.

"You may have a point sister, but what is this supposed trap I wonder?" Mar'cte asked looking at Jasmine with wonder that she had thought about things this way. It was such a different mode of thinking than he was used to, than any of them were used to.

"I don't know Mar'cte,"

"Brother,"

"I don't know, brother," she amended, smiling up at Mar'cte who approved of the change. They all ate together, enjoying each other's company unaware that Setg'in's plan was already underway.

* * *

Yeyinde's spear was as deadly as it had ever been. His hands were sure, his sight steady, and his focus narrowed on Bhu'ja. The Old Hunter had made a habit of wearing his full armor at all times. You never knew when you would have to face an enemy, or a bad blood. He thought briefly of signaling Bakuub, warning him of this threat and to watch for more, but there was no time.

The space from the door to the monitors and controls was wide. It afforded enough room for the two yautja to circle each other. Yeyinde had been wounded several times by the younger, faster, more brutal predator. He didn't recall being cut very many times, yet there was a lot of blood running down his legs. Too much blood. He wasn't healing, the cuts that he could see were shallow and not very painful. Yet, his shoes were sodden in his blood and he was tracking it wherever he stepped. Something else was at work here and Yeyinde thought he knew exactly what it was.

"Shirxa venom. Used only by those who lack the ability to kill with only their skill in weaponry and fighting. Only a bad blood would think to obtain poison at all, let alone from a Shirxa, knowing full well that we cannot kill them," Yeyinde said. He couldn't see the other yautja's face, but he thought he could tell he was smiling.

"You can spare me the bad blood speech. I don't need your respect, your so-called honor, or your approval ancient one. The only thing I need you to do is die quickly. Are you ready to do that?" Bhu'ja asked.

Yeyinde didn't answer. Shirxa venom came from two sources. You either had sex with one, or you severed her head from her body to obtain the poison from her living hair or even her blood. It hadn't occurred to Yeyinde that one could simply ask for it, or make a deal for it. It was believed that their venom killed instantly, and while that was true in large doses, it could also do something else. The venom obtained through the serpents living on their heads was mild by comparison, but it acted as a powerful anti-coagulant.

"Yes, young one I am ready to do that, but you will join me have no doubt about that!" Yeyinde yelled, letting loose a powerful roar that his mask couldn't mute.

Spinning his spear, the Old Hunter advanced. He was more than one thousand years old. If he had been a few hundred years younger, this fight would have been decided. As it stood, he was an ancient now by the reckoning of his kind. He was not as fast, his reaction time was slower, his body reacted a half a step behind his mind. Even so, he was much faster than his opponent was giving him credit for.

Yeyinde swept his spear low, tripping Bhu'ja and making him land on his back, but he was up on his feet in a flash. He used his own spear to take several quick jabs at Yeyinde's chest, all of them successfully blocked by the older yautja. Yeyinde knew that his only chance now was not to be cut anymore. He was losing blood at an alarming rate, but he couldn't concentrate on that. Bhu'ja circled around trying to find a way through Yeyinde's defenses, but finding nothing. Bhu'ja was tiring out. The ancient one's defense was nearly impregnable. He was faster than an ancient should have been, but no matter. The Shirxa poison would be enough to kill him from blood loss due to the exertion. All Bhu'ja had to do was keep Yeyinde fighting.

The Old Hunter attacked with ferocity, not waiting on Bhu'ja to make any moves. Advancing again upon the younger fighter, Yeyinde spotted Bhu'ja going for his disc. Bhu'ja swiped at Yeyinde with it aiming for his abdomen, but the elder caught Bhu'ja's hand with the tip of his spear, running it through.

"Aaahhhh," Bhu'ja screamed, his hand impaled on the spear. He yanked it off and spun away, trying to hit Yeyinde on the backswing with his spear and missing. The disc clattered to the floor, and the Old Hunter kicked it away in disgust.

He came at him again as the younger fighter tried to muscle through the pain in his hand. Bhu'ja lifted his spear again, and produced his wrist blade on the arm with the hurt hand. He blocked an incoming overhead attack from Yeyinde, but then stabbed him in the stomach with his wrist blades to the hilt. Bhu'ja looked into the Old Hunter's face and grinned at the pained expression he saw there. He made his way to his feet, keeping the blades in place and twisting them slightly. Yeyinde grabbed Bhu'ja's wrist trying to remove himself from the blades, but Bhu'ja didn't let him.

"You wanted to meet Cetanu, here's your chance Yeyinde, Old Hunter, or whatever the hell else you want to be called," Bhu'ja sneered. He was trying to intimidate or humiliate Yeyinde, but found that it wasn't going to work.

"While you're dying let me tell you a few things that you can take to your long overdue grave. The first thing is that you were right, I am here to kill Bakuub. The second thing to know, is that my name is Bhu'ja and you should remember it. The third thing, is that I am the son of Setg'in and he was the one that sent me here. The fourth and the last thing you need to know, is that we will succeed and you won't live to see it," Bhu'ja said, and snatched the wrist blades out.

A gout of blood followed the blades as Yeyinde went to his knees clutching his stomach. He had been disemboweled but he did not beg, or grovel for his life. He did however attempt to alert Bakuub with his gauntlet, but Bhu'ja took his wrist blade and immediately cut off his arm.

"Aaaaaaggghhh!" Yeyinde screamed. With his other hand he reached for his disc and was only able to slice Bhu'ja's thigh, before rolling out of the way of a retaliatory kick.

Bhu'ja stumbled back, shocked and angered by the Old Hunter's refusal to go quietly. While Bhu'ja stood stunned, Yeyinde quickly took his disc and cut off the entrails that began to drag the floor. He took his loincloth and tied it hastily around his midsection. If this was to be his end, then he would make such an end as to be told to sucklings for cycles upon cycles to come.

"Die!" Bhu'ja yelled, coming at Yeyinde with everything he had. He frantically attacked Yeyinde, striking his spear with his wrist blade until the spear broke in half. Without missing a beat, Yeyinde extended his own blades and went blow for blow, putting Bhu'ja on the defensive.

Bhu'ja was forced backwards towards the door, blocking each of Yeyinde's blows which seemed as though they were gaining more strength. Blood was pouring from his midsection, but he just kept coming.

"You will not…!" Yeyinde yelled, punctuating each word with a strike to the defending blades of his opponent.

"…kill Bakuub!" He said, continuing his onslaught against a stunned Bhu'ja. He couldn't believe that Yeyinde just kept fighting. The amount of blood he'd lost was astounding. It was enough to fell any foe, but not so for this old hunter.

Bhu'ja was backed into the door, and slipped in the blood there. Yeyinde delivered two more powerful blows. The first one drove Bhu'ja all the way to his knees. The second one sent a wave of pain up Bhu'ja's arm, making him yowl in agony. Yeyinde raised his arm for another strike. He was breathing hard, his diaphragm pierced, the blood pumped out to the timing of his ragged breathing. Bhu'ja didn't think he would be able to withstand another blow, until Paya blessed him. Yeyinde roared again tremendously, a look of hatred burning in his eyes so fiercely that it gave Bhu'ja momentary pause. Then suddenly, with his roar dying in his throat and his eyes never leaving the younger yautja's face, The Old Hunter fell to the floor on his back. The blood pooled underneath him as the life left him. His last thought was that Bakuub might not live through this, and he would not be there to save him.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope I did The Old Hunter justice in this fight. I wanted to give him a good ending, one worthy of him**. **Hope you guys liked it.**


	26. Chiva part 3

All the council members were in the conference room, watching and making note of the progress of the chiva. Many of his clan members were being successful, which reflected well on Bakuub's leadership and his ability to appoint the correct hunt masters for the job. Every council member was beaming and chattering excitedly about it, except Bakuub. He was watching Setg'in, who was trying to look at his gauntlet discreetly. He had been watching Setg'in since they got into the conference room and he hadn't liked anything he was seeing. Setg'in was too calm, and was surreptitiously watching Bakuub, when he thought the clan leader wasn't paying attention.

In fact, Setg'in had gotten a message from Bhu'ja and was none too pleased. He had made a move too early. Setg'in was clear in telling him to wait until after the chiva, but what was done was done. He had managed to kill Yeyinde. That was a major roadblock removed from his path. Once Setg'in took over the role of leadership, he knew the Old Hunter would not lend him his considerable knowledge or advice, so it was better that he was gone. Setg'in swallowed a small lump. He knew there would be collateral damage, he knew that Yeyinde would be collateral damage, but he had never expected to feel it as he was. Yeyinde had taught him everything he knew about the hunt, and he'd been around so long he had become a fixture in the clan, but he was gone now.

Setg'in left quietly. Bakuub didn't know where he was headed, but he decided to check in with Yeyinde to help keep an eye out. He stepped to the side and attempted to raise him, but there was no answer. He thought maybe Yeyinde was busy, so he excused himself and headed to the main control room.

Stunned was not a feeling that Bakuub was well acquainted with. Rarely did things shock or awe him, but the sight of two dead guards at the doors of the main control room did it. He was careful not to step in their congealed blood, which was difficult to do. When the doors slid open he was not expecting the scene that greeted him. The two yautja tasked with keeping a constant eye on flying the ship were dead, beheaded no doubt by a disc. Then he saw the Old Hunter, lying on his back, the life gone from him. He had been cut, gutted. He lay there with a massive pool of blood underneath him. Bakuub came over to his old friend, kneeled down beside him and closed his eyes and mandibles. By the look on Yeyinde's face he had been tremendously enraged at the time of his death, and Bakuub extended his wrist blades. Whoever had bested Yeyinde would need to be killed immediately. Bakuub noticed that Yeyinde's arm was missing, and he looked around frantically for it. He spotted it not too far from the body. He went over to retrieve it, and he lay it on the Old Hunter's chest.

Bakuub removed Yeyinde's mask and placed it on his own face, activating the playback. Through Yeyinde's eyes Bakuub saw his killer. He recognized this bad blood. A feeling of pure fury and hatred filled Bakuub to the point where he felt he would expire on the spot because of it. This was Bhu'ja, Setg'in's blood. Why was he not surprised? Bakuub remembered Setg'in lamenting to him cycles ago about how he had become a bad blood due to some misunderstanding, and how he wished no one would hunt him down. Of course it was preposterous not to hunt him down, and instead of Bakuub promising that he wouldn't, he instead promised that he would send arbitrators to hunt Bhu'ja like any other bad blood. They had never found him. Bakuub had always suspected that he had been aided by his sire over the years. Now it was confirmed. No arbitrator could find Bhu'ja now suddenly he was here in their midst, right after Setg'in had shown up from Paya knows where. Bhu'ja was here, and had somehow managed to kill such a great hunter as Yeyinde. No doubt with some bad blood trickery. Bhu'ja was notoriously a weaker fighter, not as capable as his sire and not as smart. Bakuub removed Yeyinde's mask and placed it on the Old Hunter's face once again. He deserved dignity and honor, not to have been killed by some half skilled bad blood fucker!

Bakuub alerted all council members, arbitrators, and specifically Kujhade and Mar'cte of Bhu'ja's presence and the fact that he had killed the Old Hunter. He'd been killed as nothing more than collateral damage. Bakuub himself was the true target, and he had been sent by his sire. However, the idiot was being tricked himself, and was too stupid to know it. Whatever Setg'in had promised was empty. Bhu'ja was being sent to the slaughter, as he could not be allowed to kill Bakuub as that would make Bhu'ja, not Setg'in the new clan leader; a position that really could not be held by a bad blood. Perhaps Setg'in intended to allow it to play out that way if he could, and then kill his own son to claim the position. Bakuub put nothing past Setg'in at this point, and either way Bhu'ja was a dead yautja walking.

Rising to his feet, Bakuub placed his own mask on his face and prepared for battle. First he would have to find Bhu'ja. The coward had hidden, probably nearby and cloaked, such were the doings of bad bloods. Sensing that he was not alone, Bakuub began to scan the large room, his wrist blades extended and his spear in one hand. He saw nothing, but that meant little. His instincts told him that his would-be assassin could not have gone far, and he was correct. He hadn't picked anything up on his scan yet, but he removed his disc and slung it in an arbitrary direction. It hit the far wall. It came back Bakuub's way, but he moved allowing it to bounce off another wall. It came again, and Bakuub moved once more. In this way he was allowing it to travel all over the room on its own, until he heard a muffled grunt. Catching his disc and putting it back on his side, Bakuub turned towards the sound.

* * *

They had all finished eating, the merriment almost over as the chiva was coming to an end. Kujhade had went down with Jasmine to loot the crates again. He had been flirting with her and feeling on her all day, and once they were in the storage area he hadn't stopped. She was bent over the edge of one of the crates, digging in it and gathering things. Kujhade took the opportunity to stand right behind her, and grind himself against her butt.

"'Jhadeeeee!" Jasmine complained, but not all that much. She rather enjoyed him pressing against her, even though she wasn't quite physically fit for sex with him.

"Keep gathering your human items, and do not mind what I am doing back here," Kujhade teased and then ground himself against her again. She looked back at him, wiggled her butt, winked and giggled. He gave her bottom a good whack as she turned back around to finish gathering her things.

Kujhade was content to watch her do this the whole night from his point of view, but when he got Bakuub's message, his mood quickly changed. He didn't know this bad blood, but it was enough for him that he existed and had apparently killed Yeyinde. Kujhade was instantly outraged. He and Yeyinde had made amends, and he had performed his life mating ceremony no more than a week before. Whoever this new bad blood was, was going to die. First, he had to keep Jasmine and his pup safe.

"Jasmine, hurry we have to go now," he said, trying to keep the urgency in his voice under control. She lifted herself out of the crate, and looked at him curiously. His mandibles clicked as if he were agitated.

"What's the matter baby?" Jazzy asked, the smile fading as she saw the look in his face.

"There is a bad blood here, I have to get you and the pup to safety. You cannot come into anymore trouble," Kujhade said as he ushered her before him up to their quarters.

He kept her shielded from every yautja's sight until they made it back to their chambers. Kujhade made sure she was safe inside. She watched as he quickly gathered his weapons and headed out of the door.

"Kujhade," she called after him. He wouldn't have stopped except for the fear in her voice. When he turned, he saw that she was nearly to tears. He really didn't have time, but he stopped anyway.

"Just…be careful okay? Come back to me," she pleaded, then rubbed her belly. "Come back to us," she said, as his large clawed hand closed over hers and rubbed her belly too.

"I promise I will come back. I will be safe. You also promise that you will stay here Jasmine. Do not leave for any reason. It is not safe here anymore. Make sure that all of your things are gathered. I have a feeling that we will not be able to stay much longer," he told her.

The thought of having to leave scared her beyond words, but she couldn't burden him with her fear. If she wanted him to remain alive, he couldn't be saddled with a million questions and concerns from her. Some that he may not have been able to answer. So instead of asking all the things that came to her mind, Jasmine simply nodded and watched her husband run off towards an unknown danger.

* * *

Materializing before him in a haze of electrical currents was Bhu'ja himself. He had only been grazed by the weapon, but gave his position away anyway. Bakuub didn't ask questions, make any declarations, no threats, barely a roar before he tried to run Bhu'ja through with his spear. It was blocked as Bhu'ja brought his wrist blade up and tried to spin behind Bakuub, but the clan leader was too fast and too determined. Bakuub turned on Bhu'ja trying to run him through again, but the younger fighter dodged again. He was staying just out of the range of Bakuub's spear, and even began to chuckle about it. In a rage, Bakuub retracted his spear and extended his wrist blade. In the other hand he took out his huge hunting knife, and began to stalk Bhu'ja.

"You will die Bakuub!" Bhu'ja yelled. Bakuub shook his head.

"Enough talk!" He yelled back, coming in close with his weapons ready.

Like Yeyinde before, Bakuub struck Bhu'ja relentlessly. Literal sparks flew as their blades clashed against one another. Bakuub was driving Bhu'ja backwards, his rage over the entire situation driving his blows. The younger yautja was blocking but his earlier fight with Yeyinde had worn him out. He hadn't expected such a battle with the old hunter, and he hadn't expected to have to face Bakuub so soon afterwards. He couldn't keep this up, going blow for blow, so in a desperate attempt disguised as fighting technique, Bhu'ja tackled Bakuub to the floor with a growl. He tried to cut Bakuub's head off, but Bakuub held his blades at bay with one hand. With the other hand Bakuub took his hunting knife and stabbed Bhu'ja repeatedly in the side. Bhu'ja howled in pain, but did not roll off of the clan leader. He returned the favor, taking his own knife and stabbing Bakuub. The knife was somewhat small and remained buried in Bakuub's shoulder as he threw Bhu'ja off of him. Bhu'ja landed a few feet away on his back. Without bothering to remove the minor nuisance of the small blade, Bakuub jumped to his feet with a roar and jumping Bhu'ja before he could get to his feet. Bhu'ja tried to hold Bakuub's blades at bay, but he simply wasn't strong enough in a battle of brute strength.

Knowing that he wasn't going to defeat Bakuub, Bhu'ja was still determined to weaken him. He shouldn't have done what he did next since it benefitted only Setg'in. His sire had promised that they would rule side by side, but as he fought Bakuub he understood that he had been sent to his death. Bakuub was the clan leader for a reason, and he was experiencing why. However, Bhu'ja was his father's son and a bad blood, so his next move should have been expected. Bakuub had him by the throat with one hand, and had removed Bhu'ja's mask with the other. Bakuub just started punching Yeyinde's killer, taking out his frustration and aiming to punish Bhu'ja for his crime. He wanted to hurt him, torture him for it. It was unthinkable to have even attacked such a venerable hunter as Yeyinde, let alone kill him. As Bakuub was relentlessly pounding Bhu'ja's face, the downed yautja began to take every small blade and knife he had and stabbed Bakuub with them in every place that he could reach. The blades themselves would not kill Bakuub, but they were all tipped in Shirxa poison, and would weaken him as time went on by severely crippling his ability to heal and stop the bleeding.

* * *

Kujhade made haste to Bakuub's position. He ran into Mar'cte, a few council members, and all four arbitrators at the control room. The scene was a bloody massacre. Bodies littered the floor, but everyone's eyes bounced between the brutal beating Bakuub was giving the bad blood, and Yeyinde's lifeless body. All of them were outraged but no one was interfering. Bakuub had clearly won this fight. The yautja he was beating on was beyond dead, but Bakuub just kept punching. Blood was everywhere, and Kujhade couldn't discern who it belonged to. He stepped forward over the bodies and puddles of wet and drying blood to where Bakuub was hammering away at a dead body. He was grunting, mumbling something about how Setg'in was next and would pay for it, and a slew of other things Kujhade couldn't make out. It was dangerous to approach a yautja who was clearly in the throes of bloodlust, but someone had to stop it. Carefully Kujhade started a sort of purring. It was similar to but not exactly the same as the kind of purring he did for Jasmine. This one was a deeper pitch that would have been barely audible for a human. Soon all the other males joined in, in an effort to calm Bakuub.

As Kujhade crept closer he saw that Bhu'ja no longer had a recognizable face. It had been beaten into a bloody mess of jutting bones, and flesh. Keeping the purr steady, Kujhade reached a careful hand out to touch Bakuub's shoulder. The elder whirled around immediately attacking Kujhade, jumping him and forcing him to the floor. Kujhade's instinct to fight kicked in but he had to check it. He raised his hands in a surrender, and continued to purr. He could see that Bakuub was covered in blood from a number of wounds with blades still imbedded in them.

"Bakuub," Kujhade said softly. "It is me Kujhade," he said.

Bakuub shook his head, and his eyes began to clear.

"Kujhade?" He growled out. Kujhade nodded. Bakuub released his hold and got up, stepped away, and looked at the carnage around him as if for the first time.

"This is Bhu'ja, the bad blood," Bakuub announced loudly, pointing to the body on the floor.

"He is the one that killed all these others, and he is the one that killed The Old Hunter," he said as he paced back and forth. He began to pull the small blades from his body. Kujhade noted that as they were removed, the blood gushed forth from them, but Bakuub didn't seem to notice. Setg'in stepped in between the small gathered crowd, his eyes going immediately to what used to be his son. Bakuub spotted him and immediately began to growl. He never stopped pacing and staring at Setg'in.

"I am pleased that all of the council members are present," Bakuub began. Everyone started looking around not knowing what he was about to say.

"We have been discussing the rank of arbitrator, and who to give it to. Many of you decided that U'darajhe should have been voted in, Setg'in was his biggest advocate, but we see happened to him. He was a fucking bad blood and was rightly killed for it. So now I exercise my right to make the decision without a vote. I name Kujhade as the next arbitrator," Bakuub said loudly. A collective roar went up from the council, mostly in surprise but some in anger. Setg'in narrowed his eyes at Kujhade, as if he were marking him.

Kujhade stood with his mandibles open in shock. He wanted that rank and had done everything to earn it, but Bakuub told him that he had no chance. He told him that the council would never agree, and Kujhade knew that he was right. Now, he had been given the rank casually. He thought briefly of rejecting it, but thought about all the privileges he would have, and the freedom of not having to belong to a certain clan but belong to all of them. He closed his mouth and stood up straight, and turned to Bakuub. He bowed his head slightly as did the clan leader, and that was it. Kujhade was now a bonafied arbitrator. Setg'in couldn't have been angrier at this outcome. It limited his ability to simply kill Kujhade without reprisal. Killing an arbitrator was not easy, and getting the go ahead to kill one was extremely difficult to do, almost impossible.

Setg'in watched Bakuub. He had intended to wait, but the time of waiting was now over. He saw the blood weeping from Bakuub's wounds, and smiled inwardly. He and Bhu'ja had discussed this, and Bhu'ja had assured him that he had a plan and it had worked wonderfully. He would have to go back to the trading post, and thank that beautiful Shirxa properly. Setg'in stepped forward.

"You have killed my son Bakuub," he said in a normal speaking voice. It gained a growl from the arbitrators who were there. They'd been accused of being unable to do their jobs properly, but put two and two together quickly.

"I have killed a bad blood! One that has killed several innocent yautja on this ship! From U'darajhe to your son, it seems that you are simply surrounded by bad bloods!" Bakuub screamed, wheeling around to face Setg'in while brandishing his wrist blades.

"You have allowed hard meats upon this ship! You have stepped completely out of tradition by bringing those ooman lou'dte kale to this clan, defiling our ways! Now to top it all off, you name one of the outcasts among us to the rank of arbitrator. Bakuub, you have lost your way and for that, you are no longer worthy to lead this clan!" Setg'in produced his own blades, and stepped to meet Bakuub.

"And finally for the murder of my son, I challenge you for the position of clan leader!"

* * *

 **A/N: As of this writing, this story has nearly 10k views! That's freaking amazeballs! I love you all, all the readers, favorites, follows, and reviewers! There are only about two more chapters to go. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint. I want the real showdown to be between Setg'in and Bakuub. I had a little bit of hard time with the fight scene. It's not all that epic, but I had a whole lot going on this week that kept me a bit distracted. I couldn't keep my head in the game, but I did manage to keep story continuity...I think. Anyway thanks for reading and being awesome!**


	27. Chiva part 4

Kujhade couldn't believe it. The conversation he and Jasmine had earlier with Mar'cte and Lijia was materializing right before his eyes. It astounded him how perceptive Jasmine had been about Set'gin after only observing him for a short time. He had indeed set Bakuub up to be weakened before he would even think to challenge him.

Kujhade's eyes flickered up to see his own image on the large screen. The ship's computer had taken Bakuub's statement as a command, and was now upgrading Kujhade's status from elite hunter to arbitrator. This would be transmitted throughout every clan, making the rank official and not just something said in the spur of the moment. The screen changed to show the first few newly blooded warriors returning from the chiva. Two of the four arbitrators left to oversee the return, making sure that no hard meats had hitched any rides. That left only the four other council members outside of Bakuub and Setg'in, two arbitrators, and Mar'cte.

He brought his attention back to the two elders about to kill each other. Bakuub's wounds were still bleeding freely, even though he seemed not to pay it any attention. Kujhade was heavily conflicted. It would go against everything he knew of an honorable battle to come between two yautja when one has been challenged. However, wasn't it just as dishonorable to challenge when you knew you were at an unfair advantage? One that you created through dishonorable means? The battle would have been fine had it been fair, but it wasn't, and Kujhade did not want to see Bakuub fall simply because he had been injured before. Not to mention that the injuries weren't healing which meant that there was something truly amiss about whatever caused them. Kujhade's first thought was poison.

"Wait!" Kujhade said coming in between Bakuub and Setg'in. A very dangerous thing to do.

"What is the meaning of this Kujhade?!" Bakuub yelled while never taking his eyes off of Setg'in.

"There is no dishonor in waiting until you are healed Bakuub. Your wounds…" Kujhade said. Bakuub blinked a few times before looking down at all the blood pouring out of his body. At first a brief look of shock passed over his features, before his expression hardened once again.

Without addressing Kujhade, Bakuub placed one large hand on Kujhade's chest and pushed him steadily and forcefully back.

'There would be nothing but dishonor in refusing to fight him now," Bakuub said, looking Setg'in in the eyes. He thought he could see the gleam of victory already in them.

"Shirxa poison, Setg'in? That is what it took for you to challenge me? I should take it as a compliment that you thought so highly of my skill, and so lowly of your own," Bakuub sneered.

"None of that matters now Bakuub. The only thing that matters is that you will die, and so will your little pet," Setg'in said.

He then gave a quick look to the council members standing watch. On cue, the four of them immediately attacked the two arbitrators and Mar'cte. Not expecting to be attacked by the very elders they had expressed loyalty to, the two arbitrators fell victim to spears ran through their midsection. Howling in surprise and anger, the arbitrators tried to fight back, but the elders were on them too quickly. They were dead in a matter of seconds.

Mar'cte was not caught as easily. He sidestepped the spear meant for him, and produced his hunting blade. He snarled as two elders surrounded him.

"Traitors! All of you!" Mar'cte bellowed, pointing his blades at them like an accusatory finger.

Seeing what had just transpired, Kujhade rushed to Mar'cte's side, but was cut off by the other two elders.

"Bakuub making you an arbitrator will not ward off your death, outcast!" One of them growled at Kujhade. He readied his favorite whip-like weapon, extending it and snapping it in their direction.

"Are we talking or fighting, traitors?!" Kujhade yelled back furiously. He thought immediately of Jasmine and their baby. He could not afford to die here.

A stunning turn of events that Bakuub had only half suspected, happened right before his eyes. His own council members had betrayed not only himself, but the entire clan. It wasn't so much that they had sided against him, but they had done so in favor of Setg'in who had just admitted to not only having a bad blood as a son, but being the mastermind behind the whole thing. They were now complicit and bad bloods themselves. The very thought of having a group of bad bloods in charge of an entire clanship was too much to endure. Roaring, Bakuub attacked Setg'in with everything he had.

* * *

Jasmine had sat and watched the scene play out on the monitor in their private quarters. So far, only Bakuub and Setg'in seemed poised to fight, but then the council members attacked those other yautja. They attacked Mar'cte also, but maybe he had been expecting some kind of double-cross. Kujhade had come to help, and got double-teamed himself. Jazzy was horrified. Yautja weren't the kind of race who took prisoners, and she knew that Kujhade's only advocates could not help, and at least one of them was dead.

 _Promise me you will not leave_ , were his words to her. She had promised, and she had no intention to break it, but what if he died? She couldn't survive in their world without Kujhade to protect her. She was as good as dead if they managed to kill him, and she knew that for a fact.

This was only the second time she had really seen him fight, and she had a lot of confidence in his ability. That didn't mean she wanted to take a chance. Jasmine stood up, determined not to just sit there and wait on her husband to be killed. She was from New York, from Harlem. She grew up in the hood, and she spent time in the streets. She had a code of her own to follow. If you were down for your man, and she was definitely down for Kujhade, then you didn't let him fight alone. If he was at a disadvantage, then you evened the odds for him. A true woman was ride or die for her man, and that was exactly what she intended to be for Kujhade, whether he liked it or not.

Quickly, she went to his trophy room where he kept spare armor. All of it was too big for her, but she had to take a chance. He had shown her the use of it, and how to use the cloaking device, and that's what she was going for. She tried to put the shoulder guards on, but they were too big not to mention they were very heavy for her. She wasn't going to be able to wear it. Frustrated, she decided to try to get the netting out, but it was no use. Even if she could get it out, it was useless without the housing which gave it its cloaking ability.

Jazzy came out of the trophy room feeling useless and defeated. There was no way she could face them in a fight. She trudged back to the monitors, but when she saw what was happening, she became determined all over again. Kujhade was fighting brilliantly, but he was having a hard time with two elders, both of whom were much more experienced than he was. Mar'cte wasn't fairing much better although they were both holding their own. Bakuub on the other hand was flagging badly. She could tell he was giving his all, but that was most likely the problem. She turned from the screen, not wanting to see anymore. She needed to get to Kujhade. That was her only goal. Whatever drama or political intrigue they had going on was irrelevant to her.

Jasmine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She grabbed up her bow, and all the arrows she could comfortably carry which had to be only about thirty or so. It wasn't much so she would have to make it count. Strapping the bow on her back, Jasmine left the chambers and caught the lift. Once she was on what she considered the main level, she ran towards the control room. She ran and ran past jubilant yautja, apparently unaware that their leader was locked in a battle to the death.

Finally, after what seemed liked forever she got there. The carnage was unbelievable. Florescent green blood was everywhere, and so were the fighting predators. She gave a quick look around the large room, and saw a metal staircase to her right along the wall, which lead to a walkway that circled almost the entire circumference of the rounded control room. It was the high ground she needed. She slid along the wall to the staircase, as none of the warriors seemed to notice her presence. Once she got to the stairs she jogged to the platform above and positioned herself above the fighting. Her palms were sweaty, and she was so nervous she became nauseous. She fought the urge to throw up, and pulled her bow off her back. She plucked an arrow from her quiver, and took aim at the elder on top of Kujhade.

* * *

Kujhade had faced down many types of prey in his lifetime. Some of the toughest to bring down were not the large mindless beasts, but the sentient life forms. He had never ever had to seriously face to the death one of his own. To have to face not one, but two members of his own race who were as highly skilled as he was or more, was no small feat. They knew each other's weapons, skillset, tendencies dictated by their very nature, etc. He'd launched a net at one of the elders, but the elder was able to cut himself out before taking too much damage. It had only bought enough time for Kujhade not to be overwhelmed by both of them at the same time. Now, they were both circling him, trying to find a good point of attack.

One of them charged, spear at the ready but Kujhade had anticipated that move. It was a distraction away from the other one, who was trying to end it all quickly with a blast from his plasma cannon. Kujhade snapped his whip and wrapped it around the elder with the spear, pulling him forward with his own momentum, and trying to pull him into the line of fire, but the elder was having none of that. He fell to the ground purposely to avoid being shot, landing close enough to Kujhade to try and kick his legs out from underneath him. Kujhade leaped his considerable bulk out of the way of the leg sweep, and came down hard with a hammer fist to the elder's maskless face. The elder grunted with pain, but still managed to stab Kujhade in the side with his wrist blade. The elder then kicked Kujhade in the chest, sending him flying a few feet to land hard on his back. The elder was on him, as the other stood back a bit and aimed his cannon right at Kujhade's head.

Mar'cte was trying to keep both traitors in front of him, and for the most part he was successful. He was shorter than both of them by quite a bit, and was using this to his advantage, getting underneath their long reach to deliver his own blows. However, he had discovered much to his frustration that their armor was exceptional, as was their defense. He had managed to disarm both their plasma cannons, by ducking underneath then circling quickly around back to slice it off. He would have simply used his own cannon, but Mar'cte knew this was the wrong place to fire off rounds of an energy based weapon. Any wayward blast could endanger everyone, by compromising the ability of the computer to safely pilot the ship. Apparently the elder who was aiming his gun at Kujhade hadn't figured that out.

Mar'cte wanted desperately to help his friend, but Kujhade would have to figure a way out of it himself. Mar'cte had his own problems with the two he was facing. One of them had cloaked himself while Mar'cte was busy with the other, and he didn't have time to scan the room for his whereabouts. Suddenly, Mar'cte felt the burning sensation of a cut forming on his right flank. He whirled around to kill the one who had wounded him, but there was nothing there, or so it seemed. Damn cloaking device. He cursed under his breath, thinking that a container of water would be wonderful right about now. Again, another cut to the same flank, then another on his back. The elder that he could see was attacking from the front, trying to back Mar'cte into a corner where he couldn't use his speed and reflexes to get around them.

* * *

Setg'in could taste it. Victory would finally be his. Bakuub was fighting on valiantly as expected, but this only played into Setg'in's hands. The poison worked faster the more the victim exerted themselves, and Bakuub was getting near exhaustion from blood loss and fighting. Bakuub was furious, and it was only that fury that was driving him. Relentlessly, he struck Setg'in again and again with his large hunting knife in one hand and extended wrist blades on the other arm. Setg'in was content to remain on the defensive mostly, striking only enough to keep Bakuub on his toes and angry. It was only now a matter of time before Bakuub simply dropped dead like Yeyinde before him. However, Setg'in was smart enough to know not to allow this to continue too much longer. Bakuub was much younger than Yeyinde, and even with all the blood loss may not succumb to the wounds only. Not to mention Kujhade might actually come out alive, and would no doubt attack him should he live. It was then that Setg'in made up his mind to truly fight, rather than let Bakuub simply run himself ragged until he died.

Setg'in blocked an overhead strike with his left arm, and used the other to deliver a devastating back fist, audibly breaking Bakuub's lower mandibles. Refusing to go down, Bakuub rolled with the punch, spinning to his own left and bringing his hunting knife up at the same time. Grabbing the arm that Setg'in used to block his strike, Bakuub held it straight and in the blink of an eye hacked it off in two strikes. Bakuub tossed the arm away, arched his back and gave a deafening roar. The blood spewed from his mouth, and his entire front was covered in it. Setg'in roared in pain and surprise, as he fell back with his arm and stump pinwheeling to keep his balance. He looked up just in time to see Bakuub coming straight for him, having leaped into the air for the final blow.

* * *

At first Jasmine was aiming for the one on top of Kujhade, but soon changed her mind when she saw three triangular dots align on his crest. The one standing a few feet away from him was about to blow his head off. Jazzy took another deep breath and aimed at him. He had on a shitload of armor, but she would have to find an open spot and fast. She was crouched on the platform, and had to stand all the way up to take proper aim. She steadied herself and let the first arrow fly. It hit him square in the middle of his back. Too bad he had armor there. The arrow bounced harmlessly off of him, but it did make him turn around. With a surprised roar, he was peering up at the platform for the source of the feeble attack, and since she was without a cloak he didn't need to look too long. Jasmine found herself in the unenviable position of having to dodge cannon fire.

The elder was shooting at her, but also making his way towards her. She couldn't see any good that could come out of him getting to her, so she kept her eyes on him and let loose another arrow. He didn't bother to dodge it. He must have been feeling super confident in the fact that the bow was inferior and therefore could not really harm him. This one bounced off of him as well, and hurriedly she loaded another. By this time he was slowly walking up the stairs. Jasmine had backpedaled enough to allow the accuracy of her shot. Seeing that she was about to shoot again, he puffed his chest out, daring her to hurt him with it. Jasmine set her jaw and narrowed her eyes.

"Alright muthafucka, you wanna play games and shit. I got something for yo ass today bitch," she mumbled under her breath, and let loose another arrow. This one found its mark, curving around and burying itself deeply into his ribs. He staggered back, and tried to remove it, but it was too deeply imbedded. He growled, she grinned.

Kujhade didn't know what happened to distract the one about to blow his head into little green chunks, but he was grateful for it. It gave him the opportunity to focus his energy on the one just above him. The elder's face was just inches above his own, wrist blades poised at his Kujhade's eyes. This needed to end, and Kujhade knew just how to end it. His metal whip straightened, its magnetic hold bringing the parts together like a sword. Kujhade plunged it into the elder's side. He then began to twist and saw the blade through the elder's back, effectively cutting him in two. The elder couldn't even scream. As soon as he opened his mouth he made a gurgling sound, and blood shot out right into Kujhade's face. After a few more twists, the blade freed itself from the dying yautja's body, as Kujhade pushed him off. Swiftly he got to his feet to find the other elder who was attacking him. A quick look around the room found the elder stalking someone on the metal platform above them running along the wall. Kujhade switched his vision and zeroed in on the figure that was running and stopping to launch some sort of attack. Was that…? Jasmine?!

"Nooooo!" Kujhade bellowed. He took a running start and leaped onto the platform, not bothering with the stairs at all. He landed between the elder and Jasmine, just as the elder launched a net. Kujhade was caught instead as the net tightened and began to cut through his skin.

* * *

Bakuub was in the air, but that was a huge mistake. Three dots triangulated on his forehead before he could do anything. He saw it, but thought that if he could just land before Setg'in could get a shot off, he could end him. The decision was made in split seconds. Just as Setg'in was about to fire, Bakuub threw his disc at the cannon. It hit but didn't manage to destroy it. At least he wouldn't be shot in the face. Bakuub landed with a thud on top of Setg'in. The wind knocked out of both of them, but Bakuub was the worse for wear. He had planned on severing Setg'in's head from his body with the landing blow, but couldn't recover fast enough from having to throw his disc instead. Bakuub felt Setg'in underneath him, maneuvering around in order to lock his legs around the clan leader. Too weakened by the fight and the loss of blood, Bakuub couldn't wiggle free before two strong legs wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides. He roared with all the strength he had left, which wasn't much. Setg'in first removed Bakuub's mask and then his own.

"I want to see your face, and I want you to see mine Bakuub. I want you to take this image with you when you meet Cetanu, as well as your failure," Setg'in snarled as he brought his knife up.

Bakuub knew this was the end, but he would not beg or give Setg'in the satisfaction of even a look of disappointment, fear, or failure. He roared as loudly and as long as he could, until Setg'in buried the knife in Bakuub's skull, silencing him forever.

Bakuub's roar and the abrupt way that it ceased, gave everyone pause. Kujhade cut his way out of the restricting net, and gave a roar of his own. His one-time mentor was dead at the hands of a bad blood, and at that moment Kujhade vowed to destroy Setg'in at any cost. First thing first, this elder was dead meat. Kujhade loosened his weapon back into a whip, and snapped it towards the elder. It wrapped around his neck, and when Kujhade snatched it back it ripped the elder's neck guard away. Growling, Kujhade snapped the whip again this time disarming his opponent by wrapping around his wrist and cutting it deeply, making him drop his knife. Every time the elder tried to get close, Kujhade would snap his whip and manage to disarm him each time. Finally the elder grew tired of it and simply launched himself at Kujhade. They wrestled briefly, as the elder tried to distract Kujhade by talking.

"After I kill you, I'm going to have fun finishing what U'darajhe started with your pathetic mate," the elder snarled as they tussled, each trying to fatally wound the other.

"Do you think she will scream once I penetrate her, or will she moan and writhe in pleasure as I take her?" He chided. He meant it to be a distraction. To make Kujhade so emotional that he would make a mistake, but it wasn't working. The elder did not know that Jasmine was pregnant, and this made Kujhade territorial and highly over-protective. The insinuations that the elder was making did nothing but seal his own fate.

With his whip straightened once again, he roared as he stabbed the elder repeatedly in the sides and back. He felt an extra weight and heard a high pitched scream. Jasmine had landed on the yautja's back, and was stabbing him with her own knife. The both of them together made quick work of the elder, as he screamed and fought, but Kujhade was holding him, preventing him from turning on Jasmine. Finally, Kujhade buried his blade to the hilt in the skull of the elder.

Jasmine jumped off of the dead body, shaking but otherwise okay. Kujhade got to his feet, and immediately went to check Jasmine for injury.

"I told you not to come here! Why did you disobey me?!" He roared at her after taking a hurried assessment of her. He scanned her to see if the baby was alright, and relaxed when he saw it was okay.

"I…I'm sorry 'Jhade. I couldn't let them kill you," she said. He was beside himself with anger, but Mar'cte's scream drew their attention.

"I'm happy you two are okay, but I would appreciate a bit of assistance," Mar'cte called out, as Setg'in and one other elder was approaching him. He had managed to kill the one who had been cloaking himself, but he was still sort of backed into a corner, and even a wounded Setg'in along with another elder was a bit much.

Kujhade leaped down with a roar and charged directly at Setg'in, who deftly moved out of the way and got behind Jasmine, grabbing her by her throat with his claws. She had run down the stairs to what she thought was a good distance away, but apparently not.

"Stop, all of you," he said calmly. Everyone stopped, Kujhade growling loudly and plotting a way to kill Setg'in before he could hurt Jasmine.

"I can see what you're thinking Kujhade, and I don't want your mate. I just want you, her, and your miserable friend gone. I want enough time to spin a story about how all of you came in here and ambushed not only your clan leader, but his council as well," Setg'in said as he kept the silent threat at Jasmine's throat. Kujhade would not dare make any move that would hurt her.

"Oh, I don't have all the details but I will in time, and then there will be no clan that isn't hunting you down, and no label to hide behind," he said. Something lit up in his eyes. Jasmine's blood was pumping hard through her veins, but there was also an added pulse. He scanned her, and lifted his mandibles in a gruesome smile.

"I think I have the basis for my little story. You've impregnated her, and then you snapped when the council decided that a hybrid could not be allowed to live among us," he said as Kujhade's eyes grew wide with realization.

"Is it starting to come together for you?" Setg'in asked as the lone surviving elder joined his side.

"Let her go," Kujhade growled.

"Sure, as soon as you promise to simply leave and not attack me. You'll be a bad blood, but you'll be alive and so will your mate and child," he said.

"It will never work," Kujhade said, Mar'cte agreed.

"It will work. Haven't you already been an outcast? Haven't we always kind of hated you, and felt you were on the verge of being a bad blood in any case? Arbitrator or no, it won't change the last two hundred and fifty years of disdain for you, will it?" Setg'in asked rhetorically.

"Kill him Kujhade, he's not going to let me go," Jasmine said. She'd seen enough movies to know that she wasn't going to live through this. Setg'in clicked his tusks disapprovingly.

"I'm going to let her go, but you have to leave without attacking me. All of you," Setg'in said, pressing his claws against her throat and drawing a small runnel of blood.

"I will not attack, now let her go or there will be no escape from me if you harm her," Kujhade rumbled, as Mar'cte did the same and went around the side. He was only waiting on Kujhade's word.

Setg'in had walked Jasmine towards the entrance, then pushed her roughly away. Kujhade hurried to her side, gathering her up in his arms. Kujhade, Jasmine, and Mar'cte made their way out to their respective quarters.

"Remember, I can think of a convincing story. You will be gone, but you will never be free, soon you will be dead, and I won't have to lift a finger!" Setg'in yelled at their backs.

* * *

When Mar'cte made it back to his chambers, he was surprised to find Lijia waiting there. She looked concerned, as if she could instinctively tell what had happened.

"Our clan leader is dead, isn't he?" She asked in a hushed tone. Mar'cte only nodded, but the anger in his eyes told her there was more to it than a simple change of leadership.

"I have to go. This clan ship is now run by Setg'in and he is nothing more than a bad blood as we discussed before," he said moving past her and into his quarters. She followed after him.

"If that is the case, then I want to come with you. I cannot abide serving under bad bloods," she said, her head raised high in defiance of even the idea of it.

He came towards her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Are you saying you want to come with me? Make the decision swiftly, because we have no time to haggle over it. Either come now, or stay here," Mar'cte said. Lijia's choice was easy. She stepped fully into him, and from that he understood she was sure of her choice. He let her go and began to ready his ship.

"Make sure that you have all that you need," he said, as they prepared to leave.

* * *

Jasmine hurried behind a furious Kujhade. Once they got into their quarters, he marched over to the wall where the monitors and charging station was. He pressed a few buttons, and Jasmine felt a subtle rumble under her feet. The floor near the panoramic window opened, and a set of pilot seats and a control console unfolded and positioned itself out of it. She stood stunned. She never would have guessed that his quarters could become a ship in and of itself. Then it all made sense. If they were to leave in his smaller ship as she imagined, then how would he carry his trophies? Surely he would never leave them behind.

As soon as the pilot seats were in place, he seated himself and swiftly pressed in a few coordinates, and started the engines. The only indication was a muffled roar, and then silence. There was a lurch and then they began to move slowly, undocking from the clan ship. Jasmine came towards him but he growled angrily at her, warning her not to come any closer. She stood back a moment staring at him. He was wounded everywhere, blood flowing in some spots and drying in others. She desperately wanted to tend to him, see about him, but he was angry at her.

Jasmine sat in the co-pilot seat and stared outside the window. She knew he would not like her placing herself in harm's way, but what else could she do? She had no choice, and he had to understand that.

It took them a few minutes to be completely free of the clan ship. Another similar craft had also undocked, and it seemed that they were headed straight for it. The technological wonders never seemed to cease, and Jasmine was thoroughly amazed at what happened next. She had a death grip on the seat arm rests, but she needn't have been concerned. As she suspected, they did make contact with the other ship, but instead of it being a head on collision, they seemed to connect side by side and become a single vessel. Kujhade got up and headed to the trophy room. He went inside as Jasmine followed him to see what he would do next. The trophy room seemed to expand a bit, as a wall shifted to the side revealing a wide doorway. Kujhade opened it and left back out to the controls at the window.

Curiosity got the better of Jasmine as she cautiously walked through the open doorway. To her amazement, the doorway opened up into another trophy room that was just as impressive as Kujhade's. She went further in, and as soon as she stepped past the threshold of the other trophy room, she was almost run over by Lijia.

"Jasmine!" The female exclaimed, grabbing her into a tight hug and lifting her off her feet.

"Are you alright? Where is Kujhade? How is the baby?" Lijia asked, firing off one question after another, and patting Jasmine down.

"We're okay, everything's okay Lijia," Jasmine assured her.

"I have to get back. I need to speak with Kujhade. I'll be back later," Jasmine said, as Lijia nodded her understanding.

Jasmine went back the way she had come, and sat next to Kujhade in the co-pilot seat.

"What were you thinking Jasmine?! I told you that I do not need you to fight for me! I told you to stay here in safety! Why did you disobey me?" Kujhade roared at her. He had come over and grabbed her forcefully, pinning her arms to her sides.

"What else did you want me to do? Just wait here until they killed you? I couldn't do that," Jasmine said, trying to hold back her welling emotions.

"You were to do as you were told. I told you that I would not tolerate you coming into anymore trouble. You could have died, and what about our pup Jasmine? Were you even thinking about that at all?!" He yelled. Jasmine began to cry.

"I can't live without you! If they killed you, what do you think would happen to us, huh?! You think I could survive here in this place without you? I couldn't do it Kujhade! I couldn't take that chance. If you die, then I die and that's just the way it is. So you can be mad all you want, but I would do the same thing a million times! A million times!" Jasmine screamed, breaking down now with so many tears she couldn't see through them.

Kujhade didn't know what to say to that. She was right, again. There was no guarantee he could have made it out alive in the situation he just left, and what would she have done? She would have been killed, and his line would have ended there and then. Overcome with emotion, but unable to truly express it the same way she could, Kujhade held her close to him and let her cry into his chest. He loved her more than he had ever loved any living thing in his life.

Jasmine pulled back, sniffling and wiping her eyes. She looked down at his blood that was now all over her. She took him by the wrist, and lead him to the medical bay. He sat on the metal table after gathering the tools he needed, and showed her how to help tend his wounds. He had never needed any help with this, but he could not reach all the wounds. She was tender, and soft, and careful. She was trying not to cause him more discomfort or pain, to the point where he had to urge her to seal his wounds. When she was done, they both walked back to the pilot area and took a seat. In reflective silence, they careened through space into the unknown.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed that. I tried to make it as exciting as possible. You all just don't know how I struggled to write this. I'm fighting a growing case of writer's block at the critical point of the story. It couldn't come at a worse time, but I got it out at least.**

 **Thanks for giving this story over 10k views. This means so much to me, and inspires me to continue the saga after this part of the tale is finished. Up next is the epilogue. After that, I'll see you all with part 2.**


	28. The End For Now

I just want to thank you all again for the enormous support I received for this story. It is my most successful story to date on this site, and I thought I wrote some pretty good pieces for TMNT.

What really inspired me to write about the Predator was the fact that we are so heavily teased with them. We are introduced in the 80s to this wonderful antagonist, who I was always rooting for anyway ( sorry Arnold). We know nothing about him really, other than that he is a killing machine presumably without a real motive. We do find that he has some kind of thought about what he is doing, when he refuses to kill the only woman in that original group. At the end we see that he is no mindless beast, as he appears to think about what he is doing, and we can see he has some technology as well.

In the second movie we get to see that there are many more of them, and they will travel in a group. We even get to see a leader, and we see again that they know how to speak. We can even see that he spares the policewoman because she is pregnant, even though she is armed. So we have to rely on these bits and pieces of movie scenes, to piece together what the predators are like. AvP gives us their rites of passage, and even as lame as the sequel was we can see the Wolf predator pausing in a moment of silence for his fallen brethren.

There are of course comics, which I have never read, and books, and other types of media available, but I'm not actually satisfied with it. We need more predator stuff, and a better look into their lives and way of thinking and doing. And for goodness sakes we need a movie where he DOESN'T die! I'm gonna need a predator to live through the final credits. I do appreciate the numerous websites that people have put up. I got a lot of information from them, as well as they simply inspired my own head cannon about what an alien like a yautja might be all about. In any case, I was moved to try to write about this character simply to fulfill my own need to know more about it. I know my stuff will never be cannon, but it can be my cannon until proven otherwise.

I was glad to see that my OC got a warm reception. She was not a self-insert, but I did borrow from some of my personal life experiences to shape her past and her mindset. I was hoping not to make them move along too fast as a couple, but then I had to cut some stuff short, because I could have gotten into some pretty boring stuff telling every bit of minutiae of what they were both going through as characters. I wanted to make Kujhade deeper than a hunt and a kill, but not too sensitive or too human-like in his responses and reactions. I hope that I succeeded in that.

In my head cannon, the yautja do not verbally express strong emotions other than anger or perhaps extreme joy. I believe they are passionate about the things that are important to them, but are not encouraged to discuss those kinds of feelings. I think they are very practical creatures, doing things that must be done regardless of how it makes them or those around them feel. I think they feel things very deeply, but giving voice to any emotion that show weakness, or is not conducive to anything is highly discouraged. I think that's why it's intriguing for me to introduce Jasmine into this. I also think that's why Kujhade loves her so much. She brings the human element into things, and sort of interjects it without overwhelming him. This is why I don't want to ever fall into the mode of making him too human. They will become more comfortable with each other, but only because that's what couples do. I want to keep creating the stark differences between them, and then make them try to work around or through it as a couple.

I also can't wait to write Jasmine's pregnancy and birth. It will be interesting for the both of them to do something neither of them have ever done, which is raise kids. Both of them will be trying to do what they think is best, and I personally believe they will make awesome parents.

Well, I guess that's enough of my rambling and prattling along. I was going to write an epilogue, but I figured the story really doesn't need one, especially considering that part two will be on its way sooner than you think.

Now it's time to talk about the real stars of this story, which is you guys. Thanks to all my reviewers:

write more soon

atiketook

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guest (10/27/2015)

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Yautstar

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guest (12/23/2015)

Ashleigh

Armedcadaver

This also goes for all the followers, favorites, and all who read my story whether you enjoyed it or not. I appreciate that you took time out to even click it. I love you all, and hope you continue to follow Kujhade and Jasmine.


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